A necklace
Lost in a looted
Burnt home
In a kibbutz
Was found
Last week
In a burnt home
In Gaza
…
Housekeeping Under Fire
No need to wash the floor when there’s a war
It just takes your mind off more crucial demands
like what you need to buy but must now forget,
vegetables rotting under fire, berries,
olives waiting to be shaken from their tree.
No need to wash the floor when there’s a war
You’ll spill something that will drive you wild.
For me, it was a can of gas, meant for the generator
that might have kept the meat a few days more.
Even a few lost drops of coffee can set me off now.
No need to wash the floor when there’s a war
the muck will return if not from the bombs
then the treads of boots dropping squares
of filth from the field – dirt mixed with blood.
Easy to clean, impossible to erase.