Dark eyes, pools of fire
Stare into hills of sand
Penetrating them
As they had penetrated
Many lovers’ souls
Kings’ hearts,
The intentions of men
Dark eyes boring through the desert hills
To the land of her brothers’ battle
For the Lord of Hosts
Dark eyes flicker, pools of excitement,
Taste of blood
Sadness, bitter and salty
Exultation and relief
As if already playing the tablet of victory
Reliving other Hebrew battles,
battles of her people
From her own childhood
So long these wars punctuated their lives
Dark eyes . . .
She muses,
Would that God would turn the land of Canaan
Back into Eden
Let me, Mirjam, take Eve’s place.
No fool would I be to the serpent’s
Coy attraction and deceit
Lolita Paiewonsky