Hear the Sirens

First come the Tzoar notifications,

Then Home Front Command’s Expectations.

Be alert, for a siren may sound;

Look around, see

Where refuge can be found.

Sirens fill the air,

Hear the steady moan;

If possible,

Better to get back home,

Be ready

To disembark bus or train,

Lie face down

On low ground

Before missiles rain.

Each siren sounds different ,

They’re not all alike;

But their message:

Don’t dawdle,

Get on your bike!

Some must go

To a miklat,

A storm shelter

In their building,

Or down the block;

Neighbors are kind,

Smiles all around,

Here we are again, Underground.

Some apartments

Have a mamad,

A safe room at home,

A sanctuary

Of their own,

Much less of a hassle

At all hours

Of the night;

The ten minutes pass slowly

But it’s all right.

You get to thinking

In the mamad:

Our lives are in Your hands,

Dear G-d;

Your miracles

And salvations

Just make our enemies

Hate us more;

Israel fights for her survival

But never started a single war.

You’ve many proxies, Amalek,

A ferocious destroyer escort;

When your downfall comes,

It will be Titanic,

There will be no safe port.

Your terminus, Amalek,

Will be more cramped

Than our miklat;

The booms, the screams,

The last “Shema”s

Will haunt you till you rot;

You will burn in terror tunnels,

Flee through an endless maze,

Your soul will melt before your eyes

In an icy blaze.

Hear the sirens

Call for safety and prayer,

Head for shelter,

Keep faith there;

The skies reign terror,

But it will not last:

Self-destruction’s

Die is cast.

Hear the sirens

Preserve life;

Carry on.

May HaKadosh Baruch Hu

Be our Safeguard

Until evil is gone.