Forced displacement of Gaza residents: photo by Jaber Jehad Badwan
by S. J. Litherland
Rain drilling down, strait-laced, it is the Sabbath,
how is that in Palestine? What purity of thought
is refraining from contemplating what is happening,
the upheaval of queues which are not queues,
what clean tablecloth, what candles, what profanity?
I am not at prayer. I thank God I am not at prayer.
Where is the just man or the just woman? Where
is the Lamed-Waf to save the world. The long rainy
day, the greyness and dim sparkle, ends the drought.
The planet is ushering in the bundles of clouds,
the plants are heavy with rain, drinking, drinking,
in Palestine the dust of the queues that are not queues
are desperate for water, where is the pity, the droth
of the dust, how is this the work of the pious, lay
the white tablecloth and the candles and pray
that the planet, the earth and the clouds, and rivers
do not forget to send us water and today is the day
to show we are one people, indivisible, kneel down
and wash the dust of the desert from their feet and see
the place for what it is, a place for repentance,
unholy execution of revenge which has no prophet
or blessing, lift your eyes to the ghettos of Gaza.
Lamed-Waf: a just person to bear the woe of the world (Jewish legend)
