On the wide sidewalk opposite the university gate
an old woman in a wheelchair sits.
The doctor has ordered her to be seated here
so the flow of young men and women will rinse
her every day, like healing spring waters.
Translated by Translated by Karen Alkalay-Gut
About the Author
Yehuda Amichai (1924-2000) was an Israeli poet. One of the first modern poets to write in colloquial Hebrew, he is the recipient of many awards, including the 1982 Israel Prize and the international 1994 Malraux Prize. His poems have been translated into 40 languages.
Karen Alkalay-Gut was born in London on the last night of the Blitz. She grew up in Rochester, New York, and currently lives in Israel. She chairs the Israel Association of Writers in English, is Vice Chair of the Federation of Writers Unions in Israel, and is a board member of the Yiddish Writers Association. She is coordinating editor of the newly revived Jerusalem Review and a trustee for the Alsop Review.
