Zinovy Vayman

Haibun for Immortality

You guys are laboring hard composing, writing, creating images of yourselves and eking out your daily bread. But it is doomed to oblivion. You showed up here and now, yep. Ninty percent of this life is just showing up, right?

A couple of years ago some people did just that. They went to work, came for the special programs and perhaps some petty business and ... all of a sudden BOOM! and you may now find their pictures, biographies and touching details of their traces on this planet at the new Oklahoma City Museum. They are victims. VICTIMS!

If you hope to get into the similar shrine here or, let’s say, in the Holy Land you are for a disappointment. Ten times more people died in car accidents on Israeli roads than in all wars and in all terrorist acts combined. You would have pretty much the same chance with Jews or Arabs though Arabs cause four times more car crashes than Jews.

behind Arab youths
throwing stones at soldiers—
rows of cameras

Once in Galilee we rode on a small bus at night. I pleaded with the driver, “Why don’t you drive normally on the right side of the road?” I appealed to the passegers in Hebrew, “Dangerous, dangerous. We are in the opposite traffic lane. We are going to die. Why is he doing that?”

But people seemed not alarmed at all.

“Ah”, one man answered with a smile,“If he drives on the right side not only guys behind us overtake our bus but the driver in the opposite direction who drives on his own left will collide with our bus.”

I slumped in my seat.

winter morning
from a glass being filled
sound of water