Two salamanders are crossing the North

Border Road. Sluggish and indifferent, they

Creep under the borderline barbed wire. I stop

The patrol. Above the ravines and fields,

Silence suddenly drops for a moment: we watch

Their orange backs, a poison color, their tails

Striped black, and their evil aura darkens

The morning light. I feel the danger,

And give an order, but even helmets and

Bullet-proof vests can’t help when your terrain

abruptly explodes: in the orange glow

I can see the creatures: evasive, lazy, innocent,

As if they don’t carry on their backs

Marks of fear and mortal hints.

translated from Hebrew by

the author and poet Ward Kelley