Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXLI: "the wars, old and new"
"Now we're trapped in a new war." An aid worker draws a breath and resumes in an uneven voice, "the battlefield is in the wounded bodies of survivors, in the broken hearts of mothers, in the hungry eyes of children, in the distant stares of elderly people. We're just fighting to live, simply to live, and we have nothing to do so..." Before the aid worker finishes her answer, boom, boom, boom interrupts the interview. The TV screen goes black.
chilly rain
stalks the edge of his dream
my Gazan friend
still waiting for the phone call
I know won't come
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXLII: "on my hands and knees"
On My Hands and Knees
"I crawled through a crowd of hundreds to scavenge a small bag with scraps of food ..." The gray-haired man pauses for a moment to take a deep breath, then continues, "I had to gather whatever had fallen to the ground -- lentils, rice, chickpeas, even flour mixed with dirt. My bones ached and my heart beat fast; I almost collapsed due to exhaustion. However, in my mind the sound of my children's hunger grew louder and darker ..."
a sack of flour
on the muddy roadside
just beyond reach
of an old Gazan's hand
in a pool of blood
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXLIII: "the wounded land"
The Wounded Land
ceasefire for now ...
dew-drenched blades of grass
hold the sky
first rooster crow
on a bombless day
skeletal farmhouse
an old man's fajr
hangs in the dusty air ...
withdrawal line
bombshell shards
glint at the morning sun
the edge of peace
Note: The fajr prayer is one of the five daily Muslim prayers, and it is performed between the break of dawn and sunrise.
And the IDF physically marked the initial withdrawal line in Gaza, known as the "yellow line," to clearly delineate it and alert both Hamas and Gaza residents. The IDF has killed dozens of Gazans who crossed the line.
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXLIV: "charred photo frame"
charred photo frame
my friend's Gazan ancestors
stiff faced, straight backed...
Added:
the Peace Wall patterned
with shifting leaf shadows
this world in flux
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXLIV: "pyramids of rubble"
pyramid
after pyramid of rubble ...
again "ceasefire" strikes
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCXLV: "mutilated bodies"
detainees
returned to Gaza
in gathering dusk
at least 135
mutilated bodies
FYI: Haaretz, Opinion, Oct.23 2025: Israel's Government Prides Itself on Sadism, Abuse and Torture
Added:
fence line
crowded with baseball caps
World Series eve
