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For Gaza
For Gaza - Seni Seneviratne
For Gaza
I walk in the rain to Black Rocks
in search of a poem, though my head
is full of slogans, though I ask myself,
“What use is a poem
when no rhythm can soothe
the countless children carrying
the label W.C.N.S.R.
wounded
child
no
surviving
relatives
when no line length can contain the grief
no rhyming couplet can provide a reason
why this is acceptable
to anyone?”
Bare branches hanging
from granite clefts
remind me
of scorched olive trees
and beneath them
there’s a shape in the rock
like a child
swaddled in a shroud.
There’s no peace here
There’s no peace
No peace
No matter how many of us
are calling out for it.
Used by permission of the author.