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Poetry

A Beautiful Elegy for a Ruthless Tyrant

By No Comments1 min read
An old, ornate Palestinian Nakba key, broken into several pieces, set against a background of bold, colorful, abstract landscapes.

Elegy for a Tyrant

Eretz Yisrael Hashlema
is what he pursued.

The policy he enacted
in full view of the world.

He slaughtered and inherited
the status of war criminal.

And he was greatly interested
in violence and expansion.

Who’s the fucking superpower here?

American presidents
seethed with irritation.

And when the tyrant raged –
Alon ben Idit cried.

And when the tyrant laughed –
Yehoshua’s little children

who barely stand in line
with silver pots in hand,
waiting for lentil soup

are blown to smithereens –

The people said:
Uh-main – אָמֵן.

Expressionist painting of war: faceless tyrant, armed soldier, and Middle Eastern children amid fiery chaos.

Read Another Poem by Skendong: Gaza Sonnet

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