The thirteenth hour

Rivka Basman Ben Haim's poems are witty and wise. Lyrical and personal, their length belies their depth. Rarely more than a page long, the poems often pack a punch. They are thought-provoking even as they sing. As a young teenager, the poet witnessed the Nazi destruction of her Jewish world. She tells the reader about this loss often, but never directly. Translated from the Yiddish by Zelda Kahan Newman.