Our son whisperedTo me todayAbout your affliction,The hardships, the ordealThat’s been rife May the LordGrant you patienceAn everlasting patienceMy very dear wife For patience is the keyTo unlock the mysteriesOf any tormented life The greatest bountyFor the blessedThe ultimate weaponOf the oppressed Be patient my darlingFor patience transforms and turnsThe[Read More…]
Arrogance was Satan’s original sinIn fact, not in fableGreed was Adam’sEnvy is why CaneKilled Able AGE-old sinsThe world has foreverSufferedAnd has never sinceRecovered Every grave sinAnd every wrongThat’s heavyHas a root in eitherArrogance, GreedOr Envy Wars and aggression Injustice and oppressionRacism and hatredDenial of the sacredExploitation of the weakPunishing those[Read More…]
Little people of the worldAre sufferingHurtingMoaningCryingUncertain what to claimWhere to aimOr who to blame Famine and povertyChildren in painDeprived of libertyExploited for gainMillions are homelessRefugees and statelessVicious weaponsThat kill and maim For every roseThat’s ever crushedA dozen thornsRaised in its placeInnocent victimsFallen from graceBloodsuckers celebrateVictory and embraceThe powerful laugh arrogantlyEnjoying[Read More…]
One dictator has fallenFrom his thrownIn disgrace The people are eagerTo try himAnd get himDisfiguring his face His reign was bloodyIn every corner and sphereOppression, suppressionSpreading torture and fearThousands had vanishedFrom their homes and places Have tyrants really learnedFrom his example and fate?Ruling their peopleThrough brutal tactics and hateOr turning[Read More…]
He was toughBut behind the veneer of toughnessA heart full of loveAn intellect full of wisdomA conscience full of compassionA life full of beneficenceEndurance and perseverance The oldest of three brothersHe grew up as an orphanLosing his motherAt the tender age of sixDeprived of her love and compassion Nothing is[Read More…]
People often askWhat’s martyrdom?And who’s a martyr? In an era of chaos and horrorMayhem and state terror The villain is considered a victimWhile the victim is blamedThe occupier defendedAnd the occupied defamed Where the stone is a threatTo a soldier inside a tankWhile crushing the skull of a childInvites only[Read More…]
Dear Diary,I’m haunted by the images From my three years of military service In the Israeli army as a staff sergeant It was in the late 90s,A period of relative calm and quietYet our leaders called itA necessary duty and urgent I was assigned at a checkpointDeep into the Gaza[Read More…]
My name is VictorI’m now a pacifistBut more importantlyI’m a recovered Zionist I was born overA half a century agoAs a Canadian citizenMy parents wanted meTo have a religious upbringingThey sent me to my grandparentsIn Israel when I was ten As every IsraeliI also served in the armyIn my years[Read More…]
Crushing my bonesWith your clubsOr gouging my eyesWith your rubber bullets Filling my lungsWith your tear-gasOr demolishing my houseWith your bulldozers Uprooting my thousand-year oldOlive treesOr destroying my vast orchardsOf orange groves Blocking me from prayingIn my mosques and churchesOr taking away my waterTo dry the roses in my tiny[Read More…]
His mother’s familyLived in the landFor fourteen hundred yearsHis father’sFor over eight hundred Celebrating lifeAnd burying their dead Breathing its airDrinking its waterSwimming in its mudWriting its historyWith sweat, tears,And blood Planting orange grovesIn its prairiesOlive orchardsAround the hillsEngraving ancient stonesIn its cavesErecting defiant castlesAnd buildingSmall mills O’ Jaffa,The bride[Read More…]
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