Saturday, October 05, 2024

05.10.24

7.10 type 
Nightmares all night.  
First, red alerts, not 
terribly terrifying, just 
Missiles overhead, 
We'd seen this all before, so
We sought shelter, 
Good citizens, even as we 
Watched them magically turn into 
Chrysanthemums in the high sky
Reduced to an annoyance. 
Even a banality. 

It happened again
Fifteen minutes later
This time we stood,  under
A concrete overhang 
These were further away
Some even took pictures with their phones

And once again, but 
This time, something different:
Against the backdrop of exploding stars, 
Parachuters drifted
Softly to the ground. 
We'd seen this scene before, so 
Those few who had guns, 
Stayed behind, and 
Fired at the sky, 
While the rest of us ran to find
Someplace to hide
Strange places: 
An airplane bathroom
An overhead baggage bin
(I don't know why we were on a plane,) and
Others that only existed in 
Dream logic, but
One by one 
(or two, or three at a time) 
The monsters found us
Even coaxing us out, through
Reassurances, we'd 
Come to no harm
But we knew better
Having seen this before
Remembering those who still
Languish under Gaza
We knew
Our nightmares were just beginning.

..........

*Written while half-asleep, in a bomb shelter, after having been woken out of a deep sleep by Homefront Command.

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