The Children of Sderot

by David Solway (June 2016)

know it is not mannah falling from the skies

the children of Sderot

know it is not the ram’s horn

for its blast is heard in the night

as well as in the morning

and it is not a mitzvah

the children of Sderot

know it is no chariot of fire

sent by the Lord

but fire sharks whose fins slice the air

as if it were water

sleek torpedoes come to sink a house

the children of Sderot

know the world is not listening

does not hear the Tzeva Adom

and couldn’t care less anyway

the children of Sderot

know these are not the Ofanim

singing Holy Holy Holy

nor even the Seraphim

who sing Holy once

before they are consumed in the fury of their joy

the children of Sderot

know the Heavens open to reveal

the crimson rose of Asmodeus

the children of Sderot

know the Slushy machine at Café Pele

is empty of its elixirs

and the ice cream refrigerator is empty of its sweetness

the children of Sderot

know it is not love that moves the sun and the other stars

but a wind that jars the senses and the soul

and joins the heavens to the earth

in darkest consummation

the children of Sderot

know the Talmud is no Iron Dome

the children of Sderot

know that Batman is not the answer to their prayers

and have lost their infant faith

in miraculous interventions

for the caped crusader is nowhere to be found

the children of Sderot

know that flying white balloons

crayoned with peace messages

will not deflect an Incoming

the children of Sderot

know the missives from above

are bang-on with their message

the children of Sderot

know they are alone with all the others

who are also all alone

the children of Sderot

know the world is not with them

the children of Sderot

know

 

________________________
 

David Solway is a Canadian poet and essayist. His most recent volume of poetry, Installations, appeared in fall 2015 from Signal Editions. A partly autobiographical prose manifesto, Reflections on Music, Poetry & Politics, was released by Shomron Press in spring 2016. A CD of his original songs, Blood Guitar and Other Tales, appeared last summer. Solway’s current projects include work on a second CD with his pianist wife Janice and writing for the major American political sites such as PJ Media, FrontPage Magazine, American Thinker and WorldNetDaily. 

 

To comment on this poem, please click here.

To help New English Review continue to publish interesting and original poetry such as this, please click here.

If you enjoyed this poem and want to read more by David Solway, please click here.