Joseph Friedlander, comp. The Standard Book of Jewish Verse. 1917.
By Walter Vernon-EpsteinA Song of Zion
My heart, it yearns for thee,
The land where peace and joy abide,
Thy shores when shall I see?
Far-famed as Israel’s race,
I love thy fields, thy fruits, thy toil,
Thy trees of stately grace.
No drear nor darksome night;
Thy very hills of splend’rous sheen,
For God has made thee right.
Thy ramparts, jewels rare,
Thy gates of oriental jade,
That spread a radiant glare.
Thy windows, crystal clear;
And every soul is free from guilt,
For God hath sent His cheer.
Would God, I were in thee;
No more the Exile’s aimless roam,
My paradise across the sea.
Where birds prolong their lay,
Where flowers bloom the whole year round,
And all the earth seems gay.
Thy rivers softly pass;
Thy pastures oft in psalms extolled,
Of nectar, breathes thy grass.
Can come within thy gates;
On every side a smile is seen,
And joy e’en permeates.
There lucre holds no sway,
There malice died, and Sh’kina’s spell,
Makes heavy hearts feel gay.
When prophets crowned thy streets,
When Levites with their chants of praise
Recalled thy wond’rous feats?
We see thee but in dreams;
We sob, we sigh, our tears are dried
And Hope, it becks and beams.
“O, Lord,” Thy children cry;
“O, take us back to Yesterday,
To Israel’s cherished destiny.”
Would God I were with thee;
Our Faith is strong, our hopes they grow
Our Fatherland to see.