The Stones of Lifta

The poems of Marc Kaminsky's The Stones of Lifta address the heartbreak of a history torqued and twisted by fear and hatred, but this poet's heart remains unbroken, alive, responsive, and attuned to a painful dissonance. He consents, humbly and bravely, to abide with the suffering of both Israelis and Palestinians, to align himself with both his heritage and his empathy, so that the indissoluble contradictions of that conflict become, ultimately, nothing less than the paradox at the heart of being fully, vulnerably, honestly human. -Richard HoffmanSample:HINANIUnworthy as I am, when I sawfootage of my friend Menachem climbing beneaththe Jerusalem hills with an old man-a displaced person-an Arabwho guided him into the ruins of his homein Lifta, I felt somethingbecome as clear and actual to meas if for one pulse beat I hearda voice speaking to my heart.Call it the divine, it is the voice that callsto us once or twice in a lifetime.We recognize it immediately and answer, Here I am,for we remember it from beforewe were born, and remain ready all our lives to gowhere it sends us. It spoke clearlyand distinctly as I sat with Menachemin my Brooklyn office, watchinghis unfinished film, it said to me, Goto Lifta, accompany your friend to the emptied villageof Lifta, walk beside him as he treads carefullyaround the boulder that blocks the winding path up to Lifta.