What Do You Say?

a poem

Listen to a reading of What Do You Say?

What do you say
to an inconsolable little boy
after his father is killed
in an Israeli air attack?
There, there now,
don’t cry, sweetheart?
Do you say
Baba’s in a better place?
Your grandfather, your brother,
your uncle, your cousin
(if he still has one)
will be your father now.

What do you say
to a distraught young boy 
whose father is shot in the head
when he went to find food 
for his starving children?
Do you say
that it was Allah’s will?
Your father was just
in the wrong place
at the wrong time.
Or do you say
it was his father’s fault?
He was acting suspiciously.
He posed a threat.
He got what he deserved.

What do you say
to a frantic teenager
after he’s watched his father
bleed to death from torn limbs
and shrapnel wounds?
That life goes on?
Do you say
that one day you’ll get over it?
When the worst is over,
everything will go back
to normal, just wait and see.
It’s always better, in the end,
to forgive and forget,
to move on.

Do you expect
the angry young sons
of too many dead fathers
to believe you?
Would you?

Link to video: Gaza boy inconsolable after father killed by Israeli air attack

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