“[T]hey use telegenically-dead Palestinians for their cause… the more dead the better.”
–Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, July 20, 2014
The leg is in the street.
Roughly attached & delicately
Arranged, (though
Shredded in between)
The torso lies quietly on the sidewalk
In front of the café.
The gray face & glass-like eyes
Looking “just so” at Heaven.
Nearby, her son, probably 4
(Or at least he was 4) has
Only one sandal on & the
Dirt covers his body in a delicate
Wave of sandy colored dustings
Distributed properly.
(Thankfully,) his face is buried beneath
The impeccably coiffed black-red mass
That once was his head.
Across the street lie more,
Posed just right to earn one´s immediate attention.
They work so hard it seems,
To get each pose, each positioned limb
“Just right” for the photogs and reporters.
Apparently, one can’t let up for a moment
Or they may appear
Simply dead.
Gaza works so hard these days
To get those images right.
José M. Tirado is a Puertorican poet, and writer living in Hafnarfjorður, Iceland, known for its elves, “hidden people” and lava fields. His articles and poetry have been featured in CounterPunch, Cyrano´s Journal, The Galway Review, Dissident Voice, The Endless Search, Op-Ed News, The International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, and others. He can be reached at jm.tirado@yahoo.com.