‘Tis a fearful thing

By Rabbi Chaim Stern

‘Tis a fearful thing
to love what death can touch.

A fearful thing
to love, to hope, to dream, to be –

to be,
And oh, to lose.

A thing for fools, this,

And a holy thing,

a holy thing
to love.

For your life has lived in me,
your laugh once lifted me,
your word was gift to me.

To remember this brings painful joy.

‘Tis a human thing, love,
a holy thing, to love
what death has touched.

Excerpt from the Mini-Series “Godless” – Pastor Garret Moore reading the poem.

Although many mistakenly attribute the poem to Yehuda Halevi (d.1141), it was in fact written in the 20^th century by Rabbi Chaim Stern (1930-2001) of Brooklyn, New York. (See here for more info)

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