“Write! Write!” • Personal meeting with the President of the State

 "More than 2000 songs? A song every day?", the President of the State, Yitzhak Herzog, was surprised, and smiled broadly. This is how the President welcomed me into the reception room at the residence of the Presidents of Israel. 

It was last Wednesday. President Herzog maintains a noteworthy cultural practice: Every so often, he hosts writers of books and poems from among the residents of Israel at his residence, on the occasion of the publication of their book, which contains the fruit of their writing. It was the same this time. I arrived at the residence accompanied by my grandchildren Daniel, Maya and Niv the officer, and my sons Oren and Ohad.

Five groups of guests, up to five people in each group, gathered in the reception hall. One of the women from the administration invited each group, one by one, to a meeting with the president. He received each in the adjoining office and escorted her to the
The guest room. Next to him sat the "groom of the meeting" and in front of him, everyone else.

President Herzog asked each of those present for their names and activities, then turned to the "groom of the meeting" and inquired about his activities. I told President Herzog about my poems, and that I was now working on writing my eighth book, which so far contains 134 hymns. Among other things, I told him about a kind of "passing of the baton":

I was previously the spokesperson for the Kiryat Tivon local council, when the head of the council was Shmuel Abuav. In January 2005, Abuav resigned from the position of head of the local council, on the occasion of his appointment as Director General of the Ministry of Construction and Housing, under Minister…Yitzhak Herzog.

Towards the end of the meeting, the president directed the filming: first these, then these, then him and me.

Before we parted ways, I told President Herzog that I write for a well-known news site called "Hai Fe." I emphasized to him the uniqueness of the site's name, and said that I would write about our meeting in "Hai Fe."
The president responded with a broad smile: "Write! Write!"
So here I wrote.

"You are my flower"

During the meeting with the President, I separately gave him the poem that opens the book of poems I gave to the President:

Love Poem for Wife: You Are My Flower

א
A smile like yours cuts me like a knife.
Scores mountains and it's all thanks to you.
I went out to graze in the fields of strangers.
From there I brought you bundles of flowers.
ב
The one bouquet of jasmine flowers.
I blushed all over. Who would have believed it?
I found its like only on Mount Arbel,
And you didn't refuse to accept it either.
ג
The other cyclamen bouquet is a bundle.
I also chose him because he had the courage.
I brought this flower just for you,
But you chose the lilac flowers.
ד
I returned to the Green Mountain as always.
I brought a lilac bouquet from there as a bracelet.
At this moment you smiled again.
Suddenly you disappeared. I didn't ask how.
ה
I returned home wrapped in wreaths.
I brought them from the mountain ranges.
Most of them are wet from the dew.
I found you like this next to a vase.
ו
And then I realized: they are a flower too.
I didn't pick you up. Actually, almost...
I only wanted to wrap my room in you,
And you didn't refuse, because I'm allowed to pick...