A distant glare

by Farid Bitar

A distant glare
Peace out
Peace never comes
Nothing is making sense
I keep repeating to myself
I keep forgetting
I light a candle every day
367 days and counting
The slaughtering of civilians
Never stops
Now they are burning humans
In the shelter zones

Revenge is ugly
Retribution is around the corner
Revise and rewind

I keep staring into space
I keep trying to get over
I keep thinking it's a bad dream

Zionista and genocide joe
Donating troops
To perfect the army machine
To conquer the rubble
To combat the resistance
To kill some more
Before an exit

I call my sister near Bethlehem
She tells me the END is near
Had no words to tell her
Tears falling on the receiver

My nation is in a quagmire
My emotions are done
My state of being is massacred

A friend poet sends me
Reconciliation
I reply back
What time is it
Did l just wake up from my
Nightmare

The storyline never stops
The news keeps getting worse
The slaughtering continues
Now they are invading
Lebanon
To kill more civilians
To claim Hezbollah is an enemy state
Always a Hamas member
When they are bulldozing the camps
They are never done
The dead are way too many
To blame

Sing the song: Are you
Are you are you
Staying silent too
While the children
Are dying for you
Far away from you

Are you are you
Watching Palestine
Burn to the ground
Are you are you
Living your own life
While Beirut burns to the ground

Farid Bitar's new collection of poetry, Testament / Sajél, is available here.