{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","title":"Akamaister wrote","author_name":"Akamaister (npub19w…dguvd)","author_url":"https://yabu.me/npub19wvckp8z58lxs4djuz43pwujka6tthaq77yjd3axttsgppnj0ersgdguvd","provider_name":"njump","provider_url":"https://yabu.me","html":"Israel: The Olive Tree Still Stands\n\nOf covenant, remembrance, and the hope of peace\n\nUpon the hills of ancient stone,\nWhere shepherds watched their flocks by night,\nA promise stirred beneath the stars,\nA people called to bear the light.\nBefore the thrones of mighty kings,\nBefore the empires rose and fell,\nA voice called Abram from his home,\nToward lands and years he could not tell.\n\nBy Jordan's banks, through desert sands,\nThrough exile's tears and foreign lands,\nA people carried ancient words,\nTheir covenant in trembling hands.\n\nJerusalem, your stones have heard\nThe prayers of those who would not cease;\nThrough centuries of grief and blood,\nThey whispered still the hope of peace.\n\nThe eagle came, the temples burned,\nThe scattered children crossed the sea;\nYet neither sword nor emperor\nCould end their ancient memory.\n\nAnd darker fires would rise again,\nWhere hatred wore a modern face;\nSix million names accuse the world,\nA wound no time can quite erase.\n\nYet from the ashes, voices rose,\nAnd Hebrew filled the streets once more;\nThe songs of children greeted dawn\nAlong the Mediterranean shore.\n\nO Israel, your story speaks\nOf more than armies, flags, or kings;\nOf mothers lighting Sabbath lamps,\nOf prayers and ordinary things.\n\nThe olive tree has weathered storms,\nIts branches broken, scarred, and bent;\nYet roots run deep beneath the earth,\nWhere generations' tears were spent.\n\nAnd I, a stranger to your blood,\nYet grafted by a grace bestowed,\nBehold in you a mystery\nThat faith and history have shown.\n\nI do not call your people saints,\nNor claim your rulers cannot stray;\nFor justice walks beside the truth,\nAnd mercy must not turn away.\nMay every child beneath your skies,\nBoth Jew and Arab, wake in peace;\nMay swords be laid upon the ground,\nAnd generations' sorrows cease.\n\nFor Zion stands through grief and years,\nHer ancient hope a living flame;\nThough nations rise and disappear,\nHer children still recall His name.\n\nAnd when the nations cease their wars,\nWhen pride and vengeance lose their claim,\nMay Jacob's children dwell secure,\nAnd all the earth exalt His name.\n\nThe olive tree still stands today,\nBeneath the sun, through wind and rain;\nIts leaves bear witness to a hope\nThat suffering has not slain."}