The Poetry Corner

God Has Pity On Kindergarten Children

By Yehuda Amichai

God has pity on kindergarten children, He pities school children less. But adults he pities not at all. He abandons them, And sometimes they have to crawl on all fours In the scorching sand To reach the dressing station, Streaming with blood. But perhaps He will have pity on those who love truly And take care of them And shade them Like a tree over the sleeper on the public bench. Perhaps even we will spend on them Our last pennies of kindness Inherited from mother, So that their own happiness will protect us Now and on other days.