I AM WITNESS
A group of Nazis mourn the loss
of some fallen in a torch-lit synagogue,
a Jewish man weeps for a lost Arab
in a candlelit mosque and embraces me—
one more lifetime swallowed up.
I am witness to things beyond my control.
I am reunited with a friend for lunch
in a crowded cafeteria,
I watch the birth of my first child
without seeing the face of the mother—
take me back to where I came from.
I am witness to things beyond my understanding.
(September 21, 2009)
of some fallen in a torch-lit synagogue,
a Jewish man weeps for a lost Arab
in a candlelit mosque and embraces me—
one more lifetime swallowed up.
I am witness to things beyond my control.
I am reunited with a friend for lunch
in a crowded cafeteria,
I watch the birth of my first child
without seeing the face of the mother—
take me back to where I came from.
I am witness to things beyond my understanding.
(September 21, 2009)