gaza math

                                    i shall not hate…Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish

1 home
9 prayer mats
1 prayer
1 father/husband
2 jobs
1 wife/mother
1 cancer
0 wife/mother
2 sons
6 daughters
2 israeli tank shells
3 daughters dismembered
21 years Bessan
15 years Mayar
13 years Ayah
1 niece dismembered
17 years Nour
1 blood charred notebook
1 brain splattered ceiling
x algebraic body parts
6 months
5 funerals
0 running water
11 shattered dreams
1 reality
_____________________
= 1 government response
      “collateral damage”

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This poem was inspired by the book "I Shall Not Hate" by Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish.

Copyright © 2011 by F. Geoffrey Johnson   All rights reserved
First published by Reverie: Midwest African American Literature - 2011 Edition, Volume 5