On Tisha B'av 5778 Poem by Shalom Freedman

Sadness will not take me where I want to go
Loneliness will not either
Nor Fear and Old Age and Death
Nor my own Breakdown and Lostness

None of what I felt today
On Tisha B'Av
Will take me where I want to go

I want to go where Peace and Security
And simple family happiness are
Where everyday Joy is
In the land of Israel
In which Jews are at home
Without war and threat

I can dream in my old age
But what will be
I pray God will answer
Not in the way
This day historically has.