-- Birds at the Western Wall --

John Herlihy

At the Western Wall in Jerusalem’s old city,

Swifts migrating from South Africa arrive in flocks.

Each year they faithfully return around January,

Nesting in the cracks of the ancient limestone blocks.

The swifts enter tiny wall cracks in head-on flight,

Disappearing into the wall, a marvel of speed and agility.

Others enter at a 90 degree angle, a breath-taking sight,

One wingtip down, another skyward, in rhythmic beauty.

The Wall houses the likes of pigeons, jackdaws, sparrows;

Feral pigeons sometimes block the entrance to the holes

The swifts wheel about, seeking their nest thru the narrows,

There, 30 feet above the ground, into nests pigeons stole.

The evening journeys have come known as vesper flights,

As the sun disappears behind surrounding parched hills.

Sacred chanting from a nearby monastery fills the twilight,

Ancient melodies out of high windows, over the Wall spills.

At dusk, the bird’s roam above heads of the faithful,

Who lay weary heads on the stone wall to say a prayer.

Many scribble little entreaties on paper to their God Merciful,

When the slips loosen in the wind, swifts catch them in mid-air.

Lord, I do beseech Thee, forgive me my worldly sins;

Cure me, protect me, let me see your enduring light;

Lord, I am your vessel, fill me with mercy to the brim;

To fly on the wings of Sakinah (serenity) into the night.

(Such as this write the faithful)

The swifts in their rhythmic movement fly low and fast;

The hats and scarves of the faithful move as one in a wave.

Rise and descend, descend and rise, ever to endure and last;

There, at the Western Wall, a place where souls go to be saved.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Friday 7 May 2021