An Arab Shepherd Is Searching for His Goat on Mount Zion
An Arab Shepherd Is Searching for His Goat on Mount Zion - meaning Summary
Shared Grief Across Divide
The poem places an Arab shepherd and a Jewish father side by side, each searching on opposite hills—one for a goat, one for a child. Their separate quests intersect audibly above the valley, collapsing political distance into shared human vulnerability. The discovery reunites them and brings mixed laughter and tears. The closing line links searching to a recurring, almost sacred generative act in these contested hills, suggesting that loss and seeking renew communal life.
Read Complete AnalysesAn Arab shepherd is searching for his goat on Mount Zion And on the opposite hill I am searching for my little boy. An Arab shepherd and a Jewish father Both in their temporary failure. Our two voices met above The Sultan's Pool in the valley between us. Neither of us wants the boy or the goat To get caught in the wheels Of the "Had Gadya" machine. Afterward we found them among the bushes, And our voices came back inside us Laughing and crying. Searching for a goat or for a child has always been The beginning of a new religion in these mountains.
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