Hillel Bavli: Seagulls in My Heart (From Hebrew)

Born in Lithuania, Hillel Bavli came to the United States in 1912 and attended Columbia University and the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, where he earned a doctorate in Hebrew literature. He joined the faculty of the Seminary in 1920. In 1954, he was awarded the Lamed Prize in Hebrew literature for his translation of Shakespeare’s “Antony and Cleopatra.” He died in 1961 at the age of 69 after a period of illness. 

Seagulls in My Heart
By Hillel Bavli
Translated by A.Z. Foreman

Seagulls in my heart
Peck me, squawk and draw me toward the shore. 
The creaking shrieking ships,
The sloshing waves,
Wayward breezes breathing of sulfur and salt,
Bustling sailors, cussing poets. 
No yoke of yore, no daily decrees. 
Blurring mists of the ages of ages,
The bonds of place and time dissolve.
I'm drawn away.
Seagulls in my heart.

The Original:

שחפים בלבבי

הלל בבלי

שְׁחָפִים בִּלְבָבִי

מְנַקְּרִים בִּי, צוֹרְחִים, מוֹשְׁכִים לִשְׂפַת הַיָּם.

סְפִינוֹת חוֹרְקוֹת־שׁוֹרְקוֹת,

גַּלִּים מְשַׁכְשְׁכִים,

רוּחוֹת־הֶפְקֵר נוֹשְׁמִים רֵיחוֹת גָּפְרִית וּמֶלַח

וְסַפָּנִים הוֹמִים, פַּיְטָנֵי־גִּדּוּפִים.

אֵין עֹל־עָבָר, אֵין גְּזֵרַת־יוֹם.

אֵדֵי־עוֹלָם מִטַּשְׁטְשִׁים,

מִתְמַסְמְסִים חַבְלֵי מָקוֹם וּזְמָן.

אֲנִי נֶחֱלָץ.

שְׁחָפִים בִּלְבָבִי.