Gaza 2023

Gaza 2023
 
Children cowering, crying afresh,
Seeking refuge in mother’s arms,
The thundering of aircraft high above
And the familiar world erupting in a trice
Into a volcano of mortar, and human flesh.

Men, gasping for the last breath of air,
Hands clutching earth in the final embrace,
Whispers, moans, screams  of despair:
"God is Great, God is Faith, God is Grace."

Women - a dead frightened flock-
Scatter  across the ruptured streets
In a frenzied search, gone  amok
Their harrowing cries, punched with defeat,
Lancing the ruins of buildings deplete.

Meanwhile,
 
the world goes on with its daily business,
incidentally  fuming over the death toll,
hiding behind emergency meetings
to cover its apathy, complicity, or lack of control?