A Sonnet For Gaza by Kevin Williamson


A SONNET FOR GAZA


Shalom.  This is not a time for clandestine poets
to hurl shoes over Jericho's fortified walls.
Stay calm. The stench of exploding verse
will not deter the invading tanks of Saul.

You bragged that the lost tribe of Israel
would not be dragged through the eye of a needle.
There would be corrective fury. An iron heel.
An eye for an eyelash. A fire truly biblical.

So you came in Numbers. The Genesis of hate.
Judges and Kings till the Job was complete.
Holy revenge against David's puny catapult.
Daniel dismembered by the lion's savage maul.

When you heard the words "suffer little children"
did you think it was one of the Ten Commandments?

Comments (11)

Leave a Reply to Fay Kennedy Cancel reply

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  1. david says:

    It is the destiny of the cults of Abraham to kill one another in god’s name. Why did they pick a child abuser?

  2. Tomos ap Gwilym says:

    God, you can’t fool a pagan!

  3. Paul Cochrane says:

    Moving

  4. It seems those dastardly Palestinians have been using SKY, ITN and other journalists as human shields. With all that recording equipment to hand, surely there’s footage of the rocket-launches which drew the pinpoint retaliation?

  5. Kevin, I didn’t know you could write poetry.

    As a Christian, I want to correct your obvious misuse of Scripture citation.
    As a child of Christ, I want to embrace the love you show to your fellow human beings in Palestine.

  6. tom says:

    I’m no fan of poetry it being stilted and constrained by form. Pam Ayres the exception, a witty wordsmith who can often make me smile and whose own warm accent charms me and increases the appeal.

    I do like this effort by KW however, the last two lines particularly get to the nub of the issue. Reasonably well done, considering.

  7. George Gunn says:

    Fine, moving poem, Kevin. What a pity you had to write it but you do what poets should: report back to the tribe on the hard realities. As for Tom – and is this a wind up?- poetry liberates form by its exact use of language. It communicates directly with the senses. Kevin’s poem illustrates all of that.

  8. Jo Eggen says:

    Hello. I am a Norwegian poet. i think this is a good political poem.
    But what about the rumours I hear that s. b. wants to set up a br team of scots and english writersto play football in israel i June? Jo Eggen

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