Rafah
It’s Ramadan
A million people
Faithful
For what
I am unsure
Being not so faithful
For life
For rescue
For prophets to keep
Teaching
On the will of God
And to submit
While hospitals
Can’t work
And food cannot arrive
And there’s no living
Room
Or space for peace
There is an endless countdown
For invasion
Until the count is ended
With more shelling
And then many
Many troops
Darkened by masks
What passes for medieval armor
And bearing
Oh
So modern weapons
And in Israel
They wait as well
Still mourning
And some strategize
An ending to Hamas
While others
Simply want for life
After grief
To move them on
They want the desert
Want the mountains
Want the seaside
Want to work
And play
And love
Their way through life
The human way through life
Though there is fear
Of extinction
Here
Too small
Too new a country still
Against
How long were the reigns
Of kings
And queens
And prophets
Both sides
Have hellish prospects
Rooted
And growing
Though the blood and time
That has poured in
After seeds
Branches
That look like tension
More than fruit-bearing possibilities
Seasons
That lack distinction
Not from the wilderness
But from
What we’d say
The human heart
The mind
Both hardened
By reason
And by fright
By reasonable fright
And also anger
Anger at the other
Sometimes at one’s own
And where is life
In all this
Where do the walls come down
Enough
For work and play
The desert
And the mountains
And the shoreline
Of the ocean
To walk in
And look out toward
The horizon
Without a horizon
Blurred lines
But there the sun will set
As if the only clock at work
The moves
With assurance
Of the daytime
And the night time
And that’s all
C L Couch
Photo by nour tayeh on Unsplash
(x = space)
x
x
Blameworthy
x
I can blame
I’ll take the side of Israel
Though this time ‘round
There were other people there
When they returned
Like the Canaanites
I suppose
From Bible school
x
And shall I blame
Hope for trumpets
Toppling Jericho
And fire from breaking urns
Surrounding Midia
x
Is it possible
To weep for land
For everyone on land
To have a home
x
I rent mine
It isn’t nice
But there are no explosions here
Unless the furnace blows
Or there’s a plane
Falling
Whose engine is the last thing
I shall hear
x
Meaning everywhere is delicate
I suppose
Everywhere is fragile Earth
With fragile people on it
Fragile war
That tears apart
The fabric of two people
Rent for love
Sometimes
Or satisfaction
Or in the ritual triumph
Of human judgment
x
But lives are torn
The limbs
Muscles
And bones
Organs shut down
Or live ones acting
To help the others
Shot
Or shrapneled
Or the everything
Atomized
Near the missile’s
Falling
Landing
x
I am frightened
So are you
War does not
In fact
Breed confidence
Fire a gun
Wish it were over
Launch a missile
Hoping that the war will end
With that
x
Our fluid thoughts
And justifications
But there’s real loss
To square
And for now
In this
Is anyone
Considering
At least the people
On all sides
Who want to live
And now
(700, 500)
Have had that robbed
Of them
x
Russia inspires
Perhaps
With current policies
That have led
To so many dying
Destroyed on either side
(worse in Ukraine)
And there
Are other nations
Backing
Sides
x
Our Congress is included
And the people
In our churches
In the streets
Who have a reason
To protest
And pinch
The politicians forward
x
And are there strings
Is there a puppet-master
I don’t know
I want it over
Punishing Hamas
And leaving people
Real people
To stanch the blood
Clean up the streets
Rebuild interiors
x
And somehow
Live together
And have life
x
C L Couch
x
x
Photo by Pierry Oliveira on Unsplash
x
Live: ‘No electricity, no food, no water’: Israel orders ‘complete siege’ of Gaza
Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant on Monday ordered a “complete siege” of the Gaza Strip, blocking the entry of food and fuel into the enclave and cutting the electricity and water supply. The death toll from the conflict between Israel and Hamas rose to more than 1,200, including around 700 people killed in Israel and nearly 500 in Gaza. Follow our liveblog for all the latest developments. All times are Paris time (GMT+2).
Issued on: 09/10/2023 – 04:41Modified: 09/10/2023 – 15:03
17 min
France 24
9:09 a.m. EDT
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