Isra Isle
Published in Issue #18 Translated from Hebrew by Jessica Cohen(Excerpt from a Novel)
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I lodge the canoe’s stern on the bank, lay down the slippery oar, and roll up the mat that covered my lap while I rowed. The water reflects the glimmering wampum beads on my belt. I grip the belt, which will protect me from the unknown.
As soon as he arrived at the mansion, the Jewish chief began to wave his deed of ownership around. At first I thought he was using it as a fan, but in fact he was displaying his entitlement to a valuable property, as though he had won a rare treasure.
Lady Lenox turned to me: That is your homeland, is it not? She did not wait for an answer.
My lady’s husband took the deed from the Jewish chief and fingered it as he does when he examines the silver fur of a grizzly bear and bargains with the Inuit hunter who came all the way from the expanses beyond the great falls. He spent a long time examining the small, crowded writing on the paper and finally decreed: You are a lucky man, Major Noah. You know how to pull the right strings. Then he winked: You Jews . . . As if he had said: You Indians.
Land is not property. It was given to all creatures for custody, I said, boldly expressing a red thought. The men in the parlor rolled their laughter out like barrels.
Master Lenox whispered something to the Jewish chief and then turned to me. As always, he spoke to me slowly...
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