Countdown: My Dream ... by Hannah

(I wrote this poem before we went to Israel as a family, in late 2004 or early 2005)

We were flying in an airplane,

And we were headed east.

Beneath us were blue waves;

The rolling never ceased.

Straining my eyes, I looked up ahead,

And got a glimpse of the land,

The land so dear to many a heart,

Protected and blessed by YHWH's hand.

The sky was beginning to grow light,

An orange and pink tint did appear,

And all the while we were flying closer;

Israel was getting near.

I leaned back in my seat,

And thought about the past.

The burning desire to come here,

Was being fulfilled at last.

Then all at once the sun broke through,

And the sky became very light,

Oh, what a glorious day it was;

We all were filled with delight!

Joyous worship came to our lips,

And we all broke into a song.

Our voices rang out in “Shalom Aleichem”;

We were finally here after waiting so long.

It took several minutes for our plane to land,

And out of our seats we did jump,

As we got closer and closer to the ground,

And gently landed with a thump.

We're home! We're home! We're home at last!

Our days of waiting are finally past!

We've been praying for this day, year after year,

And at last we're finally here!

My dream has ended, but I know it's real;

Our hope has not become dim.

We look forward to shouting “Am Yisrael Chai!”

On the streets of Yerushalayim.