Alone on Nebo the old man climbed
A stony path toward journey’s end.
With anxious mind he hoped to find
A way his troubled heart might mend.
Freed at last from duty’s weight
But burdened by his memories,
He found himself condemned by G‑d,
For reasons of necessity.
Born a slave, adrift at birth,
No place was home; no home was his.
And now at last when home was nigh,
The home he sought had been denied.
Unsure of what it all had meant,
Those years of work with sacrifice,
Too little wage had he been paid
To make up for his banishment.
The blood red sun began to set
Diffusing light across the sky.
The old man sensed the aching dread
Of dying men bereft of time.
Glory was not what he sought.
What he wanted, nothing more,
Was just to know that those he’d led
Had found themselves secure and fed,
Settled in that goodly land
With a simple peace that he might share.
On top of Nebo the old man saw,
Despite the dimming of the light,
The mottled shadows on that plain
For forty years he’d sought in vain.
Denied the entry earned by right,
Despite good faith upon his end,
This punishment, devoid of crime,
He struggled hard to comprehend.
Because he had controlled their fate
Respect and fear had been his due,
But now that he was at the end
He needed more from those he knew.
Perhaps he’d steal some extra days
With all those children whom he reared
So in the future he might hear,
They loved the man who brought them there.
But love is not conjured from air,
Nor formed in light by stark decree,
Because true love is never gained
Except through reciprocity.
Alone on Nebo the old man heard
An echo from a distant place,
The rustle of a gentle wind,
Where G‑d found him, and he found grace.
No longer standing there alone,
He looked around a final time
And knew that it was time to go.
In the end he understood
And prayed to G‑d a final wish,
Released his soul for Heaven’s sake
Then rose to Heaven on His kiss.
- Finding the Light of G‑d, pages 162-164