After Micha 4.4

"After Micha 4:4

“Sitting under the vine and under the fig tree

And none to make us afraid”.

We have our vine and fig tree

a small flat in Jerusalem

with a little succah balcony

And none to make us afraid

except for missiles from Gaza

threats from Iran, Hamas

UN declarations, Hezbollah,

daily knifings and shootings

rammings and road rage

Haters on campuses

in the Americas, in Europe

in the press and public squares

And our fragile raucous democracy

and Biblical polarisations—

yet what would my German grandparents say?"