Everyone Has a Life of a River
Every one has a life of a river
To which its tributaries are his parents,
That have gathered him together
From a wide area,
In which they have streamed,
Gently and sometimes stormy,
Until they have given him his life,
A life full of joy as of fresh waters.
And in its days of youth
He rows himself a channel,
He builds himself two banks
And still he has time to have fun
And sometimes even to be naughty.
But when he is mature enough
Striving to broaden its flow
He sweeps away his steep banks,
He does not rake more pebbles
Nor deepens his channel.
And in his old age
His flow is very slow,
He is already very lonely and sleepy,
He stretches his arms in a delta
With covered face he gives in:
He simply kills himself by merging into the sea.
To which its tributaries are his parents,
That have gathered him together
From a wide area,
In which they have streamed,
Gently and sometimes stormy,
Until they have given him his life,
A life full of joy as of fresh waters.
And in its days of youth
He rows himself a channel,
He builds himself two banks
And still he has time to have fun
And sometimes even to be naughty.
But when he is mature enough
Striving to broaden its flow
He sweeps away his steep banks,
He does not rake more pebbles
Nor deepens his channel.
And in his old age
His flow is very slow,
He is already very lonely and sleepy,
He stretches his arms in a delta
With covered face he gives in:
He simply kills himself by merging into the sea.
Written by Moshe D. Shafrir-Stillman