On the sewage puddles of Sabra and Shatila
there you transferred masses of human beings
worthy of respect
from the world of the living to the world of the dead.
Night after night.
First they shot
then they hung
and finally slaughtered with knives.
Terrified women rushed up
from over the dust hills:
"There they slaughter us
in Shatila."
A narrow tail of the new moon hung
above the camps.
Our soldiers illuminated the place with flares
like daylight.
"Back to the camps, March!" the soldier commanded
the screaming women of Sabra and Shatila.
He had orders to follow,
And the children were already laid in the puddles of waste,
their mouths open,
at rest.
No one will harm them.
A baby can't be killed twice.
And the tail of the moon filled out
until it turned into a loaf of whole gold.
Our dear sweet soldiers,
asked nothing for themselves—
how strong was their hunger
to return home in peace.



Translated from the original Hebrew by Karen Alkalay-Gut.

Fire.
Warning...warning...
Fire.
An alarm.
Fire.

Instinct and will, two separate things
Fight or flight
Or precise choice.
This room crumbles around me
The fire licks my skin,
I grow red to its touch,
It's calling brings me chills.
Should I attack?
Should I run?
Should I put it out?
Should I resist?

I sit still.

Instinct and will, two separate forces
Both battling, both toiling
For control, for power
Over something that wanders,
Something that wanes
To every new opportunity
And every bright gleaming moment.
Fire.

Fire,
I'm melted to the bed.
Fire,
Her voice rings in my head.
Fire,
I recall all that she's said...
Fire...
Simply, I don't act.
Fire!
If I could just fight, and pin you to the wall
We'll set raging fire against dying embers
By racing hearts and unyielding grip.
If I could just FIGHT, and look you in the eye...
...my flesh wouldn't be burnt
From indecision
And lack of will.

Instinct and common sense,
I've replaced you with thought.
I long to have you back...
I wish you were here...
Until then,
Be certain
That I will not stay where fire lurks.

Recently,
There's been a dark cloud
Hovering over me
My mind's been provoking thunderstorms
In hopes it'll wash away the pain
Or whatever "woe is me"
That's been up with me

Recently,
It's just been dark 
I'm on edge about the future 
But I'm still deadset on the past
And mistakes that I am not anymore
All the things I was 
All the things I left behind
Came back as ghosts 
Storming my temple

As
I'm
Sitting
In 
A
Room
Alone

Appealing to my own emotions
In an ad hominem argument 
Versus my self
Or so it always goes
Me inciting thunderstorms
Before I ***** out the light

sometimes
the right words
don't seem long enough
like the space I have to fill
in this universe
isn't quite the right fit
but I'm far too stubborn to quit
simplistic
my cerebral prescense
is elastic