My Dear Readers and Friends:
My sarcastic tanka prose, "it’s peaceful now," about the Israel-Hamas War, is nominated by contemporary haibun online for this year's Red Moon Anthology, an "annual anthology showcasing a state-of-the-art selection of haibun, tanka prose, and haiga from journals around the world."
it’s peaceful now
M-16 rifles are blooming, 2000-pound bombs singing, and Merkava tanks sweeping the streets.
Gaza is cleaner than ever, clean of blood-covered children. Yet, somewhere among the rubble the only moving thing is a boy’s eyes that look up to Heaven.
a mural
on the separation wall
of the West Bank:
in midair a girl grasps
a bunch of rainbow balloons
FYI: My tanka prose, "It is always three o'clock in the morning," was included in last year's Red Moon Anthology.
And I combined entries, CXXXVI, CXXVIII, CXXVII and CXXXVIII of Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words into the following latest entry:
Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CXXXIX: "in/humanity
In/Humanity
in smoky twilight
one evacuation order
after another ...
death upon death while the world
looks on but doesn't see
piles of rubble
cracked stoves, bottles, dusty trash heaps ...
all the way to the sea
the camera moves along
until it meets a girl's blank stare
the veil-thin line
between the living and the dead
each raindrop
and every US-made bomb
falls on rows of ripped tents
laying his beard
on his slain granddaughter's cheek
he strokes her hair
hugs and kisses her again ...
this Gazan doesn't cry, but I do
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CXL: "a maze of makeshift tents"
pause between fireballs ...
a boy wanders through a maze
of makeshift tents
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CXLI: "a pile of rubble"
the crescent moon
a Gazan atop a pile
of rubble
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CXLII: "blood stained wooden Jesus"
inspired by Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac's Christmas sermon: “Christ is Still in the Rubble”
Christmas Eve
blood stained wooden Jesus
in Gaza's rubble
FYI: Democracy Now, Dec. 23: “This Is Cruelty. This Is Not War.” Pope Francis Condemns Israel on Gaza
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CXLIII: "peace for all"
Hanukkah lights
a tattooed survivor holds
a Peace for All sign
FYI: For 2024, Hanukkah, a 8-day “festival of lights,” begins at sundown on Dec. 25, and lasts for eight nights. The holiday ends at sundown on Jan. 2, 2026.
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CXLIX: "ghost town"
ghost town
a Gazan's mind a labyrinth
of dead bodies
FYI: Haaretz, Dec. 22: Jabalya Refugee Camp, One of the World's Most Densely Populated Areas, Is Now a Ghost Town
The IDF operated in Jabalya twice before, but this time, the camp was taken apart, leading to the systematic crushing of Hamas. Jabalya, regarded as the cradle of the first intifada, is also deeply tied to the attacks of October 7
No comments:
Post a Comment