Indelible

I have no patience for poetry
The lines are grey
And writhe in meaningless sludge

I have not the stomach for poetry
How many people died today
Heartsick for birdsong?

I have not the will for poetry
Pretty words on a pretty page
Made from the bleached bones of children

And yet here the ink flows
Indelible

A.J. Ponder

 

Just finished this one. It's been here for a while, sitting with its sadness and horror. And yes, I was riffing off this protest verse from Marwan Makhoul:

'in order for me to write poetry that isn’t
political, I must listen to the birds
and in order to hear the birds
the warplanes must be silent’

 – Marwan Makhoul, Palestinian Poet

 

More links:

Poems for Palestine: https://publishersforpalestine.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/poems_for_palestine_online.pdf
Other Palestinian poetry:https://tracyabell.com/2023/11/11/palestinian-poetry/
Marwan Makhoul: Poetry, Prose, and Identity Politics: https://www.palestine-studies.org/en/node/232229