A Pity. We Were Such a Good Invention by Yehuda Amichai

Yehuda Amichai

A Pity. We Were Such a Good Invention by Yehuda Amichai

T.

A pity. That’s what it comes down to. An unfortunate development. I remember Anne Morrow Lindbergh, a brave woman, who flew all over the world, holding her heart in her hands:

“…For

Sayonara

, literally translated, ‘Since it must be so,’ of all the good-bys I have heard is the most beautiful. Unlike

Auf Wiedersehens

and

Au revoirs

, it does not try to cheat itself by any bravado ”Til we meet again,’ any sedative to postpone the pain of separation. It does not evade the issue like the sturdy blinking

Farewell

.

Farewell

is a father’s

good-by

. It is—‘Go out into the world and do well, my son.’ It is encouragement and admonition. It is hope and faith. But it passes over the significance of the moment; of parting it says nothing. It hides its emotion. It says too little. While

Good-by

(‘God be with you’) and

Adios

say too much. They try to bridge the distance, almost to deny it.

Good-by

is a prayer, a ringing cry. ‘You must not go—I cannot bear to have you go! But you shall not go alone, unwatched. God will be with you. God’s hand will be over you’ and even—underneath, hidden, but it is there, incorrigible—‘I will be with you; I will watch you—always.’ It is a mother’s

good-by

. But

Sayonara

says neither too much nor too little. It is a simple acceptance of fact. All understanding of life lies in its limits. All emotion, smoldering, is banked up behind it. But it says nothing. It is really the unspoken good-by, the pressure of a hand, ‘Sayonara.'” (

•

)

The pressure of a hand. Your hand, on the small of my back. A pity. Goodbye.

A Pity. We Were Such a Good Invention

Yehuda Amichai

They amputated

Your thighs off my hips.

As far as I’m concerned

They are all surgeons. All of them.

They dismantled us

Each from the other.

As far as I’m concerned

They are all engineers. All of them.

A pity. We were such a good

And loving invention.

An aeroplane made from a man and wife.

Wings and everything.

We hovered a little above the earth.

We even flew a little.

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poetry