Laid Bare XV
O dejected people of Gaza,
Like a Rastafarian Samson
When tricked by Delilah.
Even though he lay with whores,
He loved her and revealed
All his heart for bitcoin.
She turned him to his enemies;
They imprisoned him in your land.
He thought God had left him,
But he asked for one last prayer —
“If I can’t see, then nobody sees,”
Paraphrasing, and the pillars
Of the temple came tumbling down.
Thousands of his enemies
Perished in the rubble with him.
Now the ink on October
2025’s Ceasefire is dry,
So why are more than
One thousand innocents slain
Under a silent sky?
Where during the day
The sun is black,
And the eyes of the world —
Like a new moon for Ramadan —
Hide as most look East where
The Republic of Iran is pummeled.
The King of the North
Sits back and is well pleased.
He has moved concrete blocks
Across the sacred sand —
Sixty-four percent of Gaza gone,
And the blockade grinds on?
And the blockade grinds on…
No fully functioning hospital
In this miserable strip of land.
Countless boxes of medicine —
IV fluids, anesthetics,
sterilization supplies—
Stored in the tyrant’s warehouse,
As malnourished patients beg
For CT scanners, kidney dialysis,
And ultrasound machines.
At this stage, laid bare,
Can Hamas use these for weapons?
Meanwhile, under the rubble,
The uncounted, the rotted,
Have departed the flesh,
Leaving in the stone and tents
Rodents and insects feasting.
But you know what —
I switch off the news,
Switch off neighborly distractions,
And sit at the desk
In the middle of the room.
Eyes shut like Samson,
I recite Jeremiah
Chapter 15, verses 20-21:
“And I will make you to this people
A fortified bronze wall;
And they will fight against you,
But they shall not prevail against you;
For I am with you to save you
And deliver you,” says the Lord.
“I will deliver you
From the hand of the wicked,
And I will redeem you
From the grip of the terrible.”
I quietly spoke,
“Selah.”
Lost in translation –
Orthodox Jewish Bible:
“And I will make thee unto HaAm Hazeh
(this people) a fortified chomat nechoshet;
and they shall fight against thee,
but they shall not prevail against thee;
for I am with thee to save thee
and to deliver thee, saith Hashem.
And I will save thee out
of the yad of the ra’im (wicked),
and I will redeem thee out
of the clutches of the ruthless.”
Back to Myth, History & Cultural Memory
Preludes to Laid Bare:
Related poem from the archive:
Related sources: