To A Tiger Poem by Abraham Sutzkever

To A Tiger



Suddenly we saw each other. Time vanished.
You guarded the gates of paradise.
Above you, two cascades —
Streaming wings.

Brother! My gaze of weighty lead
You melted in your fiery mildness.
Cowardice played a trick on me —
Did not let your lips taste me.

Instead of lying dumb in the ground —
My blood would have gushed in a tiger!

Too late. Separated from you
By ten thousand miles.
Back to the eerie word, unsated scars.

And though we both are free — we walk behind bars.

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Abraham Sutzkever

Abraham Sutzkever

Smorgon, Russian Empire
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