The State of Israel I. Through the window of a bus I see a nation Immigrants- long deer-like at the nape, body of fresh earth... Red Sea eyes contrasting Negev skin... shades of The Stone that built... suited men in aristocratic uniform... young carrying automatic weapons, torn from their friends families selves... dreams in wide glowing eyes... fashionable youth following their trends... faces appear familiar, from America finally home. On another tattered bus across the green line army checkpoint national border lives another nation. (that’s what they say in the papers) II. “Do not trust in the length of years - they scan a lifetime in an hour. It is when his deeds are placed beside him as a treasure that man survives after death. Existence there is indeed forever.”* Down the street a young soldier realizing he’s lost track of time -and not noticing this bus needlessly following- runs to catch the first. His bus pauses (just long enough for him to jump on) and as it begins to swerve back into traffic a sudden BOOM! roars so loud it creates only silence and as my bus jerks I look ahead and realize on his number 9, just ahead ...EXPLOSION... life. stops. all. around. me. piercing screams sirens fire red flashing lights grey attempts to sort out shattered glass body parts identities spilt blood death. And the newspapers narrate My Brother Killed Today In retaliation for someone’s brother’s murder Shot dead. Stoned dead. Knifed dead. Beaten dead. Bomb. Machine Gun. Missile. Hand. War At home. Once I had a brother... *The Instruction for Merlicare, written approximately 2100 BCE. I found this quotation at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem.
Debra Guckenheimer's Questions:
Is the beginning of the second section (after the quotation) both
powerful and appropriate?
Does the quotation work?
Thank you.