[I must ask forgiveness for the cynicism of this poem. It was written after seeing the unforgettable film “Waltz with Bashir.”]

Humanity

Any time the world fails to
frighten you enough, just remember us,
the slaughtered horses of Lebanon.
We wondered what we had done
to suffer such torture
not deserving of the quick neat deaths
of the millions you kill for food.
No, just shot and left to bleed
because we belonged to people on the wrong side
or were just in the way.
Do you truly have a god
you pretend to believe in?
If so, perhaps you can pause a moment
to pray for the mercy
that we victims of your bestiality can never offer
because we are dead.

Immobilized in the lab, the dying dog
licks the hand that holds the scalpel.
Not us. Our ghosts wish only for teeth.

We will not forget your faces.

Leslie Gerber 2/11/09

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