For Sale: a Wheelchair

(For Ibrahim Abu Thuraya - Gaza)

For sale: a wheelchair 
in good condition.  
The seat is black 
wide, warm
and clean (blood stains
washed off); 
the two push handles: soft and comfy;  
they have been held with love 
and care; 
the armrests rarely have been used;  
foortrest and footplate –
still brand new.

The owner used it for the last time  
when he left the Shati refugee camp 
to join the crowds  
who hailed Jerusalem as their own  
and hurled stones – their live ammunition – 
across barbed wires 
that circled Gaza. 

The 29-year-old amputee, 
jumps off the wheelchair 
falls on his knees;  
he crawls towards the prison siege  
his right hand holding  
a Palestinian flag, 
his left-hand fingers making a V. 

A sniper on the other side  
smiles 
as he takes aim… 
and whizzz…
the bullet finds the stubborn head 
and
he 
falls 
dead! 
~ ~ ~ ~

For sale: a very special wheelchair 
with a history extraordinaire 
lying there  
like a question mark above 
the Homeland
The price: your blood… 
his blood 
her blood 
or mine…!
Copyright © | Year Posted 2018

Poem

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Matta Avatar
February 12, 2020 at 3:10 PM
Bravo! I like how you showed his story to the world. I live in Gaza and I feel stronger when people write about Palestine. Thank you!
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