Sunday Poetry: Jean Girard
Dreams of my Daughters
If I were the Palestinian gynecologist
whose two daughters and niece
were slaughtered by an Israeli bomb
in Gaza recently, this would be
my way of telling you of suffering
outraged. What did these beautiful
girls do to harm Israel? All innocent.
All on the thin edge of the moment,
opening their future, meeting life
more than halfway, in love with hope,
dreaming of becoming a doctor,
a teacher, a musician. Here
on this very splash of blood
lie torn notebooks, a comb,
a towel and a kerchief to cover
an all-too-fragile brain-case.
God protect them in heaven
as I could not protect them in hell.
Give me the strength to believe --
not in peace, for that word has now
lost all its meaning -- but that
a more human race will spring
from the loins of other girls
by some miracle salvaged
from such ruinous assaults,
such soul-consuming hatreds.
My lovely girls are gone. Can I
revive my will to trust once more?
(In honor of Dr. Ezeldeen Abu Al-Aish)
Jean Girard
(Published at Poets Against the War. If you haven't visited this site, I urge you to do so.)
If I were the Palestinian gynecologist
whose two daughters and niece
were slaughtered by an Israeli bomb
in Gaza recently, this would be
my way of telling you of suffering
outraged. What did these beautiful
girls do to harm Israel? All innocent.
All on the thin edge of the moment,
opening their future, meeting life
more than halfway, in love with hope,
dreaming of becoming a doctor,
a teacher, a musician. Here
on this very splash of blood
lie torn notebooks, a comb,
a towel and a kerchief to cover
an all-too-fragile brain-case.
God protect them in heaven
as I could not protect them in hell.
Give me the strength to believe --
not in peace, for that word has now
lost all its meaning -- but that
a more human race will spring
from the loins of other girls
by some miracle salvaged
from such ruinous assaults,
such soul-consuming hatreds.
My lovely girls are gone. Can I
revive my will to trust once more?
(In honor of Dr. Ezeldeen Abu Al-Aish)
Jean Girard
(Published at Poets Against the War. If you haven't visited this site, I urge you to do so.)
posted by Diane at 4:30 PM
2 Comments:
Belated welcome back, Diane.
Yay!
--monica_nyc
Don't understand this poem at all. Or rather why it's posted. Why blame Israel, when it was Hamas thata did it. They were firing at schools, full of children with parents just like this person. As many Israelis as Palestinians have lost their lives in this war, if not more. (True fact. It's been going on a long time.) Most of them civilians, all of them victims. It's all tragic. But why post this like this? To me it just seems to call for more war, more deaths, the desire is to keep the war going. Does this person think Israel began this war? It didn't, it was the Arabs. I understand the pain, I understand the tragedy, I just don't understand why the pain and tragedy doesn't lead the Palestinians to end the war, which they could do in a day. Just sign a paper recognizing Israel. That's all that's needed. Save a life, sign a piece of paper. Recognize international la. Accept global opinion that Israel should exist. Accept the UN's opinion that Israel should exist. Try love, not hate. It would save lives. Blaming Israel for Palestinian hatred accomplishes nothing.
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