War Poems

As a Jew living in the diaspora, a Jew who knows the scent and taste of Israel, a Jew who speaks the language of Israel, a Jew who loves The Land, I have lost my direction home. Each morning, upon awakening, I have tried to stare down the horror of the Government of Israel's latest retaliatory response - actions it has been waiting to execute for a very long time. By writing these poems for each of the first 100 days of the war, I bear witness. Not to one side or the other, but to All who suffer from this war. Sometimes, this is the only response to such atrocities. Divisions create the groundwork for war. I am indivisible. I am a poet, writing. Writing with the hope of peace and unity and an immediate end to war in Israel and Gaza.So what is to become of this war after the first 100 days? Nothing certain. Only a few nods to an end of the carnage. No lasting good will. No good will at all. War does not bring with it good will. Perhaps all this war will bring is another poem or another 100 poems. And yet the calls for peace, the calls to cease, have accelerated. These calls are coming from the streets of Israel, from Israelis shouting down their oppressive Far-Right government, and even from the families of those who were killed or taken captive on October 7th. The plea for humanity rings the bells around the globe, from church steeples, to Gaza, to synagogues to mosques!