image courtesy of edition.cnn.com
Poem written for and submitted to "Children of Gaza" poetry contest, Matt Caliri, sponsor, September 12, 2025
EYES WISE AND OLD ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ We are the children of Gaza~ we’ve tasted fear, smelt burning air, a generation forged in conflict We are the children of Gaza~ our feet are shoeless and dust-caked, wartime rubble, our playground We are the children of Gaza~ our crayons and picture books destroyed, replaced with shrapnel and fear. We are the children of Gaza~ sirens are our lullabies, the news, our bedtime stories. We are the children of Gaza~ our laughter is a fragile bird taking flight between explosions. We are the children of Gaza~ we build castles of dust and sorrow, imagination, our shields against war’s despair. We are the children of Gaza~ we long for normalcy, wish for a swing set, yearning for a simple, unbroken day. We are the children of Gaza~ we learned survival before subtraction, experiencing loss before love. We are the children of Gaza~ our childhoods stolen, piece by piece, by the cruel arithmetic of war. We are the lost children of Gaza~ our eyes wide and old, hold stories we shouldn’t know.
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