Say Their Names
Agam
Daniella
Karina
Liri
Naama
five vibrant
vital flowers
beginning bloom
surveilling their field
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Agam
Daniella
Karina
Liri
Naama
five vibrant
vital flowers
beginning bloom
surveilling their field
the July 4th rat a tat tat
fireworks finale sounds
no holiday hotdogs here
only a fusillade of bullets
our porch door
creaking
no longer a sign
of lazy summer
now suspicion
is all it brings
Some of my earliest childhood memories were going through both my grandmother’s and mother’s jewelry boxes. I loved trying on the shiny and sparkly pins, rings, bracelets and necklaces, imagining being old enough to wear “real” jewelry.
My first piece of jewelry that represented something more than a birthday or a bat mitzvah gift was the MIA bracelet I wore for over a decade engraved with the name of a Vietnam soldier missing in action.
I see faces I do not know
And my heart is breaking
I see names I do not know
And my soul aches
Us with our wandering stars and souls, Jews,
Candles, kippahs and torah scrolls, Jews.
The only things we have, Hashem and Jerusalem,
Our ancient walls have been ruined again, Jews.
A Russian Immigrant once asked Ilhan Omar:
“O Congresswoman, do you have to mar
all things Israeli? Your wrathful tweets
do lack a balanced view of the Near East.”
His pleas ignored, A Russian Immigrant then turned
to the elected whipper-tweeter from Detroit:
“I want to know, Representative Tlaib,
do you rehearse or is it all ad lib?”
The poets of Hamas bemoan the death
of one of their own. Villanelles and sonnets
deny that men from Gaza violated Jewish girls
time and again, in gangs, with rabid zeal. They
call it Zionist “lies” and “smokescreen.” Bloody rhymes
with bloody Jewish bodies.
This poem is dedicated to my people and above all Hashem who does not slumber nor sleep. The Light of Israel will forever burn – nothing will ever extinguish us.Six Million Souls suddenly taken then, left
As a student in Montreal: Dear Reader, The progression of emotions since October 7th, as a Jewish woman, has included that of defeat and fear to pride and empowerment, and a whole lot intertwined in
I have been brought to my knees since October 7, 2023. Each moment a new wave of emotion – overcome with grief, anger, confusion, sadness, and despair at every image, story, phone call, text and even,