Soar, Don'T Settle Poem by gershon hepner

Soar: although the sky is cool,
and all the earth, soar to Orion;
be strong, though not like ox or mule,
but independent as a lion.

Soar, the world is at your feet,
and you may even reach the stars,
and if you can’t, don’t let defeat
cause you to land up on your arse.

Inspired by a one verse poem by Shmu’el Hanagid (993-1056) , translated by Peter Cole in The Dream of the Poem: Hebrew Poems from Muslim and Christian Spain 950-1492 (62) , to which I have added a second verse:

SOAR, DON’T SETTLE


Soar, don’t settle for the earth
and sky—soar to Orion;
and be strong, but not like an ox or mule
that’s driven—strong like a lion.


10/26/07