Joseph of the Pits (My Heart Has Not Been Broken)

A Song for Kislev

(Evelyn Dunbar, Joseph in Prison, 1950)

My heart has not been broken, 
My soul has not been crushed, 
Every vein has now been opened, 
And the blood begins to rush. 

My body has not been beaten, 
And thrown down in the pit, 
But I still have my reason, 
And my reasons not to quit. 

My flame has not gone out, 
Though it’s dark and cold a weight, 
And in the pit of doubt, 
I learned to be the light. 

My clothes have all been torn, 
I’ve lost all that I had, 
But in the dark reborn, 
A man born from the lad. 

From pit to pit, 
And port to port,
Down to Egypt, 
And Pharaoh's court,
The highest highs, 
The lowest lows, 
But through it all, 
My light still glows. 

My heart has not been broken, 
By the tempest of G-d’s love, 
I cherish these dark moments, 
And my days lived in the rough.

My head has just been crowned, 
For G-d has seen it fit, 
That I should be around, 
When my people needed it. 

My soul has not been crushed, 
By the darkness that I’ve faced,
It made my light grow tough, 
And I’ve never let it fade. 

So on the darkest days,
When you’re deep down in the pit, 
That’s filled with rats and snakes, 
And hope’s begun to skid,
Remember me in Egypt, 
In the pits of plight, 
And how I learned to hold, 
Myself as my own light. 

My body has been beaten, 
My clothes have all been torn, 
My head has just been crowned,
But my life’s been filled with thorns. 

Which must mean I’m the rose, 
That grew from darkest rock, 
Whose beauty always grows,
In the darkest realms of thought. 

Joseph of the pits,
Joseph of the palace,
Joseph, Walking Prince,
Joseph son of malice. 

Joseph in his cloak, 
Or laying with the bones, 
Joseph in his rags, 
Or up on Pharaoh's throne. 

Joseph was the light, 
That he needed in the dark, 
And now it’s up to us, 
To find that sacred spark. 

Spread Love, Spread Light,

Am Yisrael Chai