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lacing my fingers togetherI wondershould I kneelstandmaybe salute althoughI well comprehendthe rulesof a regiment I’m at a lossto knowwhat regimented rulesapply here in thisnowhere space a temple of clouds unknowingmy corporeal selfstruggles to conveythe solemnityof my
Dear Yarden, It’s 4:30 am. I wake up thinking about you. That must sound crazy, but I’m certain I’m not the only one. One of the things that I fell in love with since the aftermath
Twin heads of copper hair
blindingly bright like
sun-fires in the
very eyes of God
that bore a hole
through the conscience
of an indifferent world.
I waited for you for 15 months,
I thought about you every day,
I missed you everyday
I had hope for your return for 15 months
One day
I’ve got –
Them.
Funny, clumsy, crying.
Kids.
Cubs.
Days
passed.
My cubs played.
They grew strong, beautiful, shining.
Kind.
And then
that
day
came.
Powerful emotions pulsating
through my veins
every breath a challenge
as I struggle in my chains
In the bleakness of a tunnel
far below the light of day
never knowing never speaking
slowly dying there I lay
Will they save me
from this nightmare
My name is Yoni, and I am an IDF soldier;
I’m to greet the four-year-old old hostage just released;
We’re told not to answer questions about parents;
I’m glad to have direction about what can and cannot be said;
It’s hard though I know both parents are dead
The characters will be a mother (Imma) and her two young sons in honor of the mother Shiri Bibas and her two sons, Kfir and Ariel, brutally ripped from their home in Israel and taken hostage by Hamas terrorists where they have been held apart from their father Yarden Bibas (also a hostage) in the labyrinthine tunnels of Gaza since 7 October 2023 and continuing.
Agam
Daniella
Karina
Liri
Naama
five vibrant
vital flowers
beginning bloom
surveilling their field
Last night, I went to the kotel and prayed. I didn’t pray like I normally pray. I imagined I was Shiri Bibas praying for herself and her husband and her children in Hamas captivity. I do not know if she’s allowed to pray out loud where she is. I am sure most of her thoughts are prayers.