An infant in diapers lays wounded
Maybe 1 or 2 years old
Maybe dead
I do not know
His ruffled curly black hair
Begins to tell his tribulation
It steaks with sweat
A testimony to his struggle for life
The scars and bandages that cover his body
Explain the agony on his face
Exhaustion permeates his stature
His left hand must have just slumped
As it is turned awkwardly
Both arms are bandaged
As his right arm is elevated
Three bandages of various lengths
Cover his torso
On his neck
Near his heart
And by his upper right stomach area
His legs barely show
Yet enough to know
That his right leg is bandaged
Maybe broken
His back is unseen
Only God, Allah, Elohim knows
What scars lay under
What psychological scars lay with him?
Where are his parents?
Are they dead?
Does he have a future?
Will he have a childhood?
Has his innocence been taken away?
What did this boy do
To warrant such misery?
Is he a terrorist?
Is he an occupier?
Is this what they call collateral damage?
Where is the humanity for this child?
I cry with burning heart
I cry for this is my son
I cry for this is my grandchild
I cry for he is my brother
An infant so fragile, so tender
Maybe a Palestinian
Maybe an Israeli
I do not know
An infant, so innocent, so sweet
Maybe a Christian
Maybe a Muslim
Maybe a Jew
I do not know
But does it really matter?
Does it matter who he is?
For he is a child
A child so blameless
So caught up in the atrocities
The atrocities of his elders
Dear God, Allah, Elohim
Why? Why must this be?
Why this child?
Why any child?
Why anyone at all?
Maybe dead
I do not know
His ruffled curly black hair
Begins to tell his tribulation
It steaks with sweat
A testimony to his struggle for life
The scars and bandages that cover his body
Explain the agony on his face
Exhaustion permeates his stature
His left hand must have just slumped
As it is turned awkwardly
Both arms are bandaged
As his right arm is elevated
Three bandages of various lengths
Cover his torso
On his neck
Near his heart
And by his upper right stomach area
His legs barely show
Yet enough to know
That his right leg is bandaged
Maybe broken
His back is unseen
Only God, Allah, Elohim knows
What scars lay under
What psychological scars lay with him?
Where are his parents?
Are they dead?
Does he have a future?
Will he have a childhood?
Has his innocence been taken away?
What did this boy do
To warrant such misery?
Is he a terrorist?
Is he an occupier?
Is this what they call collateral damage?
Where is the humanity for this child?
I cry with burning heart
I cry for this is my son
I cry for this is my grandchild
I cry for he is my brother
An infant so fragile, so tender
Maybe a Palestinian
Maybe an Israeli
I do not know
An infant, so innocent, so sweet
Maybe a Christian
Maybe a Muslim
Maybe a Jew
I do not know
But does it really matter?
Does it matter who he is?
For he is a child
A child so blameless
So caught up in the atrocities
The atrocities of his elders
Dear God, Allah, Elohim
Why? Why must this be?
Why this child?
Why any child?
Why anyone at all?
Fadi Zanayed
June, 2009
( © Copyright, Fadi Zanayed. Publication or distribution of this material is allowed provided its content is not altered and the source and its author are cited.)
( © Copyright, Fadi Zanayed. Publication or distribution of this material is allowed provided its content is not altered and the source and its author are cited.)
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