Star of David

Star of David

never went down

refused to be vanquished

in barbedwire hell of camps

refused to be vanquished

by murder, and murder, and murder

Star of David

is now being redudced

to statistical deaths, in my history book

an entire culture stuffed

in the barbedwire confinements of a syllabus

is being reduced to the victim

of murder, and murder, and murder

Star of David

is so much more than that

Chanukka candles and dreidel-songs

sedars and the four questions

-rituals that embraced me, that made me smile-

a four year old, catholic, exploring her best friend's god

no barbedwire confinements

no murder, and murder, and murder

Baruch atah adonai

or as I say, my heavenly father

who loves all his children

though they do not love each other,

thogh they treat each other

with hate and contempt

and murder, and murder, and murder

And we stand in battlefields of the eternal struggle

god against god,

faith against faith

culture against culture

trauma against trauma

and we still pray

we all still pray to the sky, asking for and end

of murder, and murder, and murder.