The Celestial Fire, By Yannai

Now an angel of the Lord appeared to

Moses in a blazing fire--

a fire that devours fire; a fire that burns

in things dry and moist; a fire that

glows amid snow and ice; a fire that is

like a crouching lion; a fire that reveals

itself in many forms; a fire that is, and

never expires; a fire that shines and

roars; a fire that blazes and sparkles; a

fire that flies in a storm wind; a fire

that burns without wood; a fire that

renews itself every day; a fire that is

not fanned by fire; a fire that billows

like palm branches; a fire whose sparks

are flashes of lighting; a fire black as

a raven; a fire, curled, like the colors

of the rainbow!

TRANSLATED FROM THE HEBREW BY T. CARMI

From “99 Poems in Translation,” selected by Harold Pinter, Anthony Astbury and Geoffrey Godbert (Grove Press: 150 pp., $11)