The Vow

David Onkinerah

16th Century

I saw your figure in my dream, gazelle, flashing like lightning. It gave light to my darkened eyes, and I saw that your face was a model of the heavens. The sun and moon are set in it, the stars and planets are fixed there. And it holds sharp arrows and spears, burnished to pierce all hearts. It lit up my pitch-black night and pulled the stoppers…

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Creator Bio

David Onkinerah

16th Century

Little is known about the poet David Onkinerah. He may have been born in Istanbul, and he certainly resided in Salonika. He was a gifted poet and the youngest member of the Salonika circle of poets. Five of Onkinerah’s Hebrew sonnets have survived, one of which was composed in Damascus.

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