In a destroyed Kfar Shalem and the expelling of Jaffa / Mati Shemoelof
Listen, Momma:
A well-fed white rat
Persuaded the inspector
To eat along with the builder
To feed the politician
To bed down with the judge
And flatten the people’s history.
A big rat, Momma,
I swear I saw her nibbling at the rubble
Hungrily,
Excreting the culture that eats
Without ever being satisfied.
And why do I tell you all this, Momma?
Maybe because I feel it can’t go on like this,
We have to stand together.
Confront the rat
And shout out the pain of those nibbles.
You’re right, Momma,
We are not rats.
But the stigma on our bodies,
The rubble before our eyes,
Have come across to my daughter
Who asks how we never
Did
A thing.
—————————–
Mati Shemoelof is an Israeli poet, editor, and social activists. This poem, written following current events in Kfar Shalem and Jaffa, was translated from Hebrew by Dena Shunra, and dedicated by the author to the Egyptian people