This Brave New World, CXXXII
written in response to Palestinian Pastor Munther Isaac's Christmas sermon, 2023: “Christ in the Rubble”
In these last two months, the psalms of lament have become a precious companion to us. We cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken Gaza? Why do you hide your face from Gaza?”
my God, my God
why have you forsaken me?
bloodied Jesus
trapped under Gaza rubble
in the Christmas cold
This Brave New World, CXXXIII
written in response to Issa's "Hell haiku" (motto of Czeslaw Milosz," whom the Swedish Academy called in its 1980 Nobel Prize citation a writer who "voices man's exposed condition in a world of severe conflicts."
this world of rockets
this world of missile flashes ...
yet a Christ thorn plant
FYI: Issa's Hell haiku is included in Czesław Miłosz's free verse poem, titled "Reading the Japanese Poet Issa (1762–1826)," (functioning like a poetic commentary/reflection on three of Issa 's haiku)
In this world
we walk on the roof of Hell
gazing at flowers
And "the Christ thorn, also known as the crown of thorns, is a pretty succulent plant that can bloom almost year-round, even indoors. According to a religious legend, the crown of thorns worn by Jesus Christ at the crucifixion was made from the stems of this plant, therefore its common name."
Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXIII: "Christ's thorn"
dew clings
to Christ's thorn leaves
each drop
a window
to the war-torn sky
Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CXLII: "blood stained wooden Jesus"
inspired by Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac's Christmas sermon, 2024: “Christ is Still in the Rubble”
Christmas Eve
blood stained wooden Jesus
still in Gaza's rubble
Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCLVIII: "fairyland reindeers and Gaza mules"
a dream and yet ...
Rudolph guides Santa Claus's sleigh
through smoky skies
then past Gaza mules hauling
a flatbed cart of bodies
FYI: Reuters, December 25, 2025: In first Christmas sermon, Pope Leo decries conditions for Palestinians in Gaza
Leo, the first U.S. pope, said the story of Jesus being born in a stable showed that God had "pitched his fragile tent" among the people of the world.
"How, then, can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold?" he asked.
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCLIX: "Gaza news"
Gaza news on mute
blood-red dots spattered
on my canvas
FYI: Haaretz, December 25, 2025: Defense Minister Again Vows Gaza Settlements, Says Israel 'De Facto' Annexing West Bank
Israel Katz said IDF bases and a yeshiva should be established in northern Gaza, despite a flip-flop on the issue earlier this week after a similar statement. Katz also hailed Israel's West Bank policy as 'de facto annexation' – expanding settlements while expelling Palestinians from 'terror camps'
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