Exile

Exile

We sang the song of home

On alien soil

Each residence

A reminder of exile

We greeted each

With a wasting smile 

And clung with longing

To a desperate plea

Next time in Jerusalem

And all along 

We were adrift at sea

We lied to ourselves 

Believing we belonged

And meanwhile

Exile left an imprint

On our memory

We sang their anthems

And ate their food

We changed our names

And our hair grew long

We were of beautiful form 

Vainly we tried

To forget ourselves

But dawn approaches 

And we are seeing

The fruit of our labor

Spoiled and rotting

In the sun

Our prayers are useless

If we avoid 

The destination 

The new lie is that 

Home is just a vacation 

How can we

Parrot these words

Which became empty

How can we say

That we should stay

When even our prayers

Call us away?

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