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Day +21

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It is 3 weeks after transplant! Today, after three days of vacation, I am back at the hospital for tests and some treatments. All in all, the blood numbers continue to be great, and my doctor is very happy. In a week they will perform the first bone marrow biopsy after transplant (and other more detailed blood tests), and will be able to tell exactly how much of each line are the donor cells (for Greek mythology lovers, this is called a chimerism test). I am also back to the normal clinic, and will need to come to the hospital only twice a week, on Tuesdays and Fridays; this is both another indirect good sign, and a blessing in itself. Finally, they will soon remove my Hickman port (that 3-lumen port used to allow lots of infusions to be given in parallel). I will be left with only my medi-port that I had now for almost 2 years. The advantage is that I’ll be able to finally return to taking normal showers again (the medi-port is under the skin, so can be exposed to water, while the Hickman requires protection from water and you should not splash on it even with that so-called “aqua guard’’ you cover it with before showering). 

Also, physically I feel better. One major aspect is my back – it improved to the point that I stopped completely wearing my brace. So, my sleep is much better, and I don’t feel any pain walking! Indeed, as Yuval and Vivian are visiting us for a few days from Stanford, and the weather was just beautiful yesterday, we all took a long stroll in Central Park – Edna’s iWatch reported that we walked 5.3 miles! The main thing remaining that I can complain about is the general (mainly mental and less so physical) fatigue, which does not seem to go away yet, but will hopefully eventually fade away like the other problems. I am still forbidden to go to crowded places like restaurants and theaters for fear of infections, but can have healthy visitors at home. 

  • Today I’ll post the translation of only one poem, of the great Nathan Alterman again. It is a long and complex one, and required (at least from me) several readings and much thought before translation, even though I have known and sang it for decades. It is called The inn keeper song (שיר הפונדקית). It  is part of a play Alterman wrote called The inn of the ghosts which is complex and disturbing as well (you can read the description of one production here https://www.midnighteast.com/mag/?p=49402 ).  I always debate with myself if to add any interpretation or background, or let the poem speak for itself. Sometimes, some of your reactions to my choices (especially when you don’t like them, as happened especially with Alterman’s Anakesh) make me want to explain my selections – I am not quite sure I can do it here, and this poem will indeed be tougher than Anakesh.  Anyway, I was always attracted to this poem, The inn keeper song, in strong part due to the eerie performance I recommend below (sang by the actor, Hana Maron, who played the part of the inn keeper in the original production). The poem is about death (Alterman devoted many poems to this topic) and preparing for it. Unlike numerous writings about death which discuss the (eternal) soul, this poem instead praises the body, which while finite and decaying, is the residence (the inn) of the soul, and which experiences the pleasures of life while it lasts. The original Hebrew lyrics are here  https://shironet.mako.co.il/artist?type=lyrics&lang=1&prfid=743&wrkid=15681 . My favorite performance is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsWTKKdSb8E


The inn keeper song – Nathan Alterman

Time has come, it’s the End, inn-keeper
it’s now at your door
How to welcome it now that it came?
This festive encounter with make-up galore
You embrace, as it called out your name

First take care, that your hair, will turn white, and will glow
Then the skin, let it dry nice and soft like the hay
And the mouth, let it boil, like an ice-cube
Then remember to turn off your eyes and
Of course then to cool off your blood
(What a wonderful chill)
That’s about it, give or take some details

On a journey so long
To where you’ve never been
You should sing all the praise to
The body, your inn

Which withstanding some storms, being thrashed
Looks a bit like a car that just crashed
But despite dents and kinks, dirt and grime
Nothing else can replace it, sometime

Well sometimes, yes sometimes
From our youth till we’re way past our prime
We keep chasing our tails all the time
And then leave, yes forever, sometimes

True, philosophers said, that the body just houses the soul
Simple matter, mere flesh, just a shell
But such quality matter, as tough as a sole
Is a very rare find, I can tell

And so, inn-keeper, what, when you’re gone, will they tell?
That you simply exchanged your own bodily shell

But this shell, through your life, has succeeded
To dream dreams and to crave and to love seeking bliss 
And to cry and to laugh, to desire and kiss
Up till now, just as much as she needed 

On a journey so long
To where you’ve never been
You should sing all the praise to
The body, your inn

Which sometimes one checks in, it is said 
To an inn with the earth for a bed
And for several reasons and rhythms
One will never check out, well sometimes 

Well sometimes, well sometimes
From our youth till we’re way past our prime
We keep chasing our tails all the time
And than leave, yes forever, sometimes

And the night is so bright, very bright and so terribly clear
Having guests, they'll arrive very soon 
And illuminates it is this grand chandelier 
Which we often call simply, the moon

Till the end, it will shine, very true, to its task
And then finally finally puts on a mask
But it’s cold and bizarre, making no sound 
What a wonderful mask, it is really sublime 
Only way way too still, and is paler than lime
Or, some other white chemical compound 

On a journey so long
To where you’ve never been
You should sing all the praise to
The body, your inn
Which contains in its menu, pre-fix
A sadness and happiness mix
For these twins (you can try to resist)
Will forever, sometimes, will exist 

Well sometimes, well sometimes
From our youth till we’re way past our prime
We keep chasing our tails all the time
And then leave, yes forever, sometimes  


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