An Arab Shepherd Is Searching For His Goat On Mount Zion



An Arab shepherd is searching for his goat on Mount Zion
And on the opposite hill I am searching for my little boy.
An Arab shepherd and a Jewish father
Both in their temporary failure.
Our two voices met above
The Sultan's Pool in the valley between us.
Neither of us wants the boy or the goat
To get caught in the wheels
Of the "Had Gadya" machine.
  
Afterward we found them among the bushes,
And our voices came back inside us
Laughing and crying.
  
Searching for a goat or for a child has always been
The beginning of a new religion in these mountains.
Font size:
Collection  PDF     
 

Submitted on August 03, 2020

Modified on April 26, 2023

32 sec read
132

Quick analysis:

Scheme AXBBXCXXX XCX AX
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 545
Words 107
Stanzas 3
Stanza Lengths 9, 3, 2

Yehuda Amichai

 · 1924 · Würzburg
 · 2000 · Jerusalem

Yehuda Amichai (‎3 May 1924 – 22 September 2000) was an Israeli poet. more…

All Yehuda Amichai poems | Yehuda Amichai Books

0 fans

Discuss the poem An Arab Shepherd Is Searching For His Goat On Mount Zion with the community...

0 Comments

    Translation

    Find a translation for this poem in other languages:

    Select another language:

    • - Select -
    • 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
    • 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
    • Español (Spanish)
    • Esperanto (Esperanto)
    • 日本語 (Japanese)
    • Português (Portuguese)
    • Deutsch (German)
    • العربية (Arabic)
    • Français (French)
    • Русский (Russian)
    • ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
    • 한국어 (Korean)
    • עברית (Hebrew)
    • Gaeilge (Irish)
    • Українська (Ukrainian)
    • اردو (Urdu)
    • Magyar (Hungarian)
    • मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
    • Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Italiano (Italian)
    • தமிழ் (Tamil)
    • Türkçe (Turkish)
    • తెలుగు (Telugu)
    • ภาษาไทย (Thai)
    • Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
    • Čeština (Czech)
    • Polski (Polish)
    • Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
    • Românește (Romanian)
    • Nederlands (Dutch)
    • Ελληνικά (Greek)
    • Latinum (Latin)
    • Svenska (Swedish)
    • Dansk (Danish)
    • Suomi (Finnish)
    • فارسی (Persian)
    • ייִדיש (Yiddish)
    • հայերեն (Armenian)
    • Norsk (Norwegian)
    • English (English)

    Citation

    Use the citation below to add this poem to your bibliography:

    Style:MLAChicagoAPA

    "An Arab Shepherd Is Searching For His Goat On Mount Zion" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 Dec. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/57129/an-arab-shepherd-is-searching-for-his-goat-on-mount-zion>.

    Become a member!

    Join our community of poets and poetry lovers to share your work and offer feedback and encouragement to writers all over the world!

    December 2024

    Poetry Contest

    Join our monthly contest for an opportunity to win cash prizes and attain global acclaim for your talent.
    17
    days
    21
    hours
    50
    minutes

    Special Program

    Earn Rewards!

    Unlock exciting rewards such as a free mug and free contest pass by commenting on fellow members' poems today!

    Quiz

    Are you a poetry master?

    »
    Who wrote the 1916 poem "Out, Out—"?
    A Elinor Frost
    B Robert Browning
    C Robert Frost
    D Emily Dickinson