Mi'ma'amakim

Yesterday, when I was driving to my office, I heard a hauntingly melodic song on the radio.

It was in a language I didn’t recognize so I had no idea what they were saying, but I really liked the song.

Unfortunately, the DJ didn’t announce the name of the song or artist before I got out of the car.

Later that afternoon, I stopped at the library to pick up a Dengue Fever CD that I had requested and was waiting on hold for me.

I decided to browse the library’s CD collection.

Always a sucker for those Putumayo world music collections, I found myself in that section staring at a CD with a man in desert boots, fatigues and dreadlocks on the cover.

I had never heard of The Idan Raichel Project. Regardless, I decisively put the CD in my pile to check out.

When I got home I put the CD in my computer and began listening to the first track. I liked it, but something inside me told me to skip to the second track.

It was the song from the morning.

I was stunned! What are the chances?

I looked up and the first thing I saw was the picture of my grandparents that sits next to my desk.

My Granny looked incredibly pleased with herself and my Ady’s face was filled with laughter.

The hair on my forearm stood up.

I remembered a while back screaming at this very picture.

After the close-talking, dragon-breathed, evangelical woman tried to save my soul in the thrift store I informed my Granny that if she wanted to send me a message that she’d better do it in a way that I would trust.

Staring at their picture I suddenly needed to know what the lyrics to the song meant.

Mi'ma'amakim

From deep depths I called to you to come to me
with your return the light in my eyes will come back
it's not finished,
I am not leaving the touch of your hands
The sound of your laughter shall glow here again.

From deep depths I called to you to come to me
the moonlight I will again light your way to me
they're spread out and melted again
the touch of your hands
I whisper, ask in your ears:
Who is it that calls to you tonight - listen
who sings aloud to you under your window
who stakes his soul just for you to be happy
who will lend his hand to build you a home
who lay his life down underneath you
who like the earth at your feet shall live on
who will love you better than all your lovers
who will save you from all evil spirits
from the depths.

From depths I called to you to come to me
the moonlight will shine your way back to me
spread out and melted to the touch of your hand
I whisper in your ears and ask
Who is it that calls to you tonight.

As it turns out, the song is sung in a blend of Hebrew and Amharic.

I thought of the place my grandparents must be and imagined all the languages of the world united in one universal form.

How much they must understand now.

Thankfully, they remain all around me everywhere, showing me the way with and without them.