The Love of a Hebrew Maiden

This is an ancient love story.

I took her to the rebels near the bank of the Euphrates River.

She was a fearless and heroic Hebrew maiden,

The daughter of a chieftain of the twelve tribes of Israel,

A slave in a strange land full of sorcery and idolatry,

The prettiest woman among the captives in Babylon.

A Jewess in ragged clothes conspired against the oppressors.

The fetters of the heathens could not break her.

 

Her name was Gavriella, which means, “God is my strength.”

She had borne more pain than any woman has ever felt,

But her unflinching faith in Jehovah kept her alive.

I was a valorous liberator and she fell in love with me,

And I gave her my word that I would help her to escape.

I knew that I would be executed if they captured me,

But I was ready to risk my life for the love of a Hebrew maiden.

 

The chains of bondage did not affect her charm.

I touched the wounds that she had received from the torture,

And the scars from her chastisement grieved my heart.

Suffering and homesickness strengthened her determination,

And the hope of freedom was evident in her smile.

She reckoned that someday she would break away

And return to her homeland and be a free woman again.

 

Even though she was young, she had no fear of death.

I looked at her for a while with uncertainty,

And then she reassured me with the kiss of bravery.

She fought courageously at my side for liberty.

It was a fight that we were confident we could win.

We sang songs of Zion the night we left Babylon,

And the Hebrew maiden and I walked hand in hand in the dark.

Author's Note

From the author's elite collection of love poems.