This is my poem in the new House of Amal anthology: Threads of Palestine: Weaving Words of Witness.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Another (tiny) terrorist dead —
toddlers a ‘grave threat’
to cowards in combat gear
who wreak wanton destruction
on all they encounter
in this blessed land,
already besieged for decades,
yet now facing extinction —
natives not welcome,
as the children of darkness
seek annihilation,
lusting after precious beachfront property
which beckons
when this land is “cleaned up”.
Bombs snatch childhood in an instant,
Gaza’s schools no longer a place of learning.
No longer a place at all —
destroyed
by the targeted missiles
of cold-hearted killers
looking for phantom tunnels.
Gaza’s hospitals are no longer havens for healing.
Instead, monuments of massacres,
as real-life monsters stalk the halls
looking for any moving creature to mow down.
Murderous munitions unlimited
as foreign tax dollars
freely fund this façade of self-defense.
“No red lines”
in this war of extermination.
To you, fearless soldier, we say:
kill,
kill,
and kill some more.
Stay intoxicated,
deluded by the deception of your war machine.
Think not
of the grave threat
that awaits you tomorrow —
fitting payment for your atrocities:
a hole of horrors, pain and sorrow.
For every soul shall taste death.
And if the sounds of slaughter
don’t haunt you in this world,
be sure
that your memories of murder
will torment you in the next.
Because when it all fades to black,
when the veils of deception fall down,
you’ll stare in horror,
eyes fixed
at the fate you’ve earned.
No leaders to take the fall
in your stead.
No lies to hide behind,
only fear and dread.
You’ll be
just a single soul
all alone
about to face terrors far worse
than those you so glibly dished out
when you had the power
to choose differently.
But that’s just the appetizer:
a small taste of the torment awaiting
in your abode of eternal (un)rest.
So, know
that whether or not you care,
your soul will be ensnared.
Divine Justice awaits.
Rush forward,
meet your fate.
Some notes about this piece
On the surface, “Soldier’s Fate” may seem like an angry piece, filled with vengeance and threats against the occupation forces which wreaked such cruel havoc on a land and its people over the 15 months of the genocide (and long before that, too). And yes, the poem does include these sentiments. Because, in the face of such helplessness, outrage was bound to spill out onto the page.
Day after day, we witnessed the vicious slaughter and desecration of defenceless men, women, and children; doctors and medical staff, aid workers, journalists, the elderly, the sick, the pregnant…pretty much everyone was a target for the “most moral army in the world”. And the things they did – shown widely on social media by on-the-ground witnesses, and proudly by some of them on their own accounts – really made one wonder what kind of evil forces could drive such individuals to commit such heinous acts against other humans.
In the face of it all, most of these crimes were not reported in the mainstream media. Or if they were, manipulative language toned down the reality of the acts. And it appeared as if the world was silent – most media, political and business leaders, celebrities, and others with public voices all turned a blind eye, painting it as a “conflict” – rather than the outrageous campaign of genocide it was.
But it only appeared that way, because the masses of people who came out to protest after protest – people of all religions and creeds, all races, all orientations – all over the world showed that, despite the best efforts of those in power, you can’t fool all of the people all of the time.
Still, though, we had no power whatsoever to stop what was happening. The warmongers and their weapons industry counterparts paid no heed to public outcry, simply adding more and more and more bombs and ammo to the cauldron.
But people of wisdom knew that there was no option to despair and give up, because though the outward situation was so bleak, there was (and always is) much more at play than what the eye can see and the ear can hear. Even in the bleakest circumstances, it’s our duty to keep doing what we can to fight against injustice – through prayer, through action (such as protests and boycotts), and through words.
Which is where poetry comes in.
The wonderful folks at House of Amal worked for a year on this book, collecting the poetry of diverse voices and themes, all with the focus on Gaza. And while many of the poems in this anthology focus on the victims and their loss, my contribution focuses on the perpetrators. It is necessarily harsh – but not out of vengeance alone. It also acts a warning of the impending reality that they will face. A reminder of the concept that “what we do in life, echoes in eternity.”
And despite the horrors these individuals have committed, there’s always a chance to turn back. Back to their humanity. Back to compassion and empathy. Back to sanity. Yes, they must face justice for what they did. But the first step in reform is to recognise your mistakes and stop them. And this poem hopes to act as that sort of hammer blow, to ring them out of their state of delusion.
Whether it will ever reach such soldiers, I don’t know. But the message is one I felt I needed to express. As a warning and opportunity for those soldiers, but also a reminder of Divine Justice for those feeling helpless in the face of such brutality.
Whatever we do – good or bad – will come back to us in some form, either in this world or the next. As each of us walk our journeys through this life, let us always remember that – particularly when our actions impact others.
Get the book
Proceeds of this book go directly to the people of Gaza, via House of Amal’s charity partner Zakat Foundation USA.
For samples from the book, check out the anthology showcase on YouTube. To order, visit these links:
slip-sliding away..... 