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26th October, 2023 I thinkWe got comfortable in this worldI thoughtI saw the world settle into a beautiful placeDangers far away, unreachableUntouchableI thought of it like a cliff hovering over deadly, thrashing waves on top of
Our hearts are being asked to hold an enormity of pain that is both too vast and too jagged to touch it is too much Our minds are being stretched beyond their borders to hold a
Photo: Sarah Pritzker Srigim, Israel17 November, 2023 No need to utter a sound.Is the groanOf each fibreAs a single dropSoaksThe fabric of a shirtNot enough? Nor dislodge a whimperBecause I can hear your tearsLike an echo
“We’re not from around here,” I say, displaying a facial expression that seems half facetious, half tongue-in-cheek. Ariella cracks up. “Of course you’re not from here! Now come here to the storeroom, I want to give
On the unseasonal rains we had during the first week of the war Talk to me about rain in OctoberSpeak of the clouds swinging byAnd the rains that tumble to the charred, broken earthAs they topple
By Nechama SamuelsTelz Stone/Kiryat Yearim, Israel Yesterday should have been Simchas TorahInstead it felt more like Yom KippurPeople walking around with hollow facesNot eating Yesterday we should have bolted out of bedInto our new clothesRun to
By Mindy Sager DicklerModiin, Israel16 October, 2023 What is that sound I hear? Thunder? But it’s not quite the same. This sound lingers on and on. It’s slowly getting louder and louder. So disturbing to me.
Anonymous, age 18Modiin, IsraelFrom the funeral of Staff Sgt. Lavi Lipshitz, age 20, at Mt. Herzl A wave surfs the waters, foaming with gleeBut on the shore crash, all the ones before he“Doomed we all are!”
Who would bewail an empty beachWhose sweeps of sand that lie far and vastBecome a salty desertAs they swallow waves of uncertaintyThat gently lap against the shore Who would bewail a quiet nightWith just sea for
We cried all the tears we thought we had The well of sadness run dry When 21 more angels dug new wells And the tears they kept on flowing