motto of his book is a quote from
Nietzsche: “He who has a Why to
live for can bear almost any How.”
Frankl’s dream became writing and
publishing a book which he started
writing prior to being captured and
sent to Auschwitz. The manuscript
was confiscated by the Nazis, and
Frankl resolved to reconstruct the
manuscript from memory – writing
notes on tiny scraps of paper and
hiding them. Frankl survived and
published influential books, using
his personal experiences in Nazi
concentration camps to expand on
his original ideas.
So holding fast to one’s dream,
whatever that dream may be, is
critically important! Under the
influence of this premise, I wrote
the following poem – an appeal
to those who, following major
setbacks, consider letting go prematurely
of dreams that are still
salvageable, an invitation to give
yet another chance to dreams that
still yearn to be realized, despite
the obstacles. As a Japanese proverb
guides: “Fall seven times and
stand up eight.” (The poem was
published in Volume IV of Nassau
County Poet Laureate Society
Review, 2016).
Don’t Bury the Dream
Don’t bury the dream. Not yet.
Don’t let it go into the dark of
night,
recede into shadows,
vanish behind veils of fear
where could-have-beens hover.
Don’t let pallbearers
pull your dream away. Not yet.
Graveyards are filled
with dreams buried too soon,
for no rhyme nor good reason.
Don’t bury the dream. Not yet.
Dive beneath the bruises.
Pull it out of embers of pain.
Recover what you left behind
when wrong turns lead you
astray.
Don’t give up. Let the dream rise
like a phoenix and spark your
longings.
Start there, at the longings.
Let the longings linger.
Let the yearnings lead.
Don’t bury the dream. Not yet.
Don’t let rough winds
baffle bluebirds of hope.
Weave good threads into
a tapestry of what can still be.
Don’t bury the dream. Pause.
You are not done yet. It’s not time
for final farewells. Bring back
the moment just before the end
began.
Don’t turn off the lights.
~ Dr. Nurit Israeli
July 2019 ¢ NORTH SHORE TOWERS COURIER 21