|
Two Short Poems
By Joyce Zasler
A Soldier's Prayer
The earth is soft beneath my feet, the sun ablaze with desert heat,
The quiet stillness does not last, intermittently gun-fire blasts.
I stand on guard, alert and ready, my gun positioned, my hand is steady.
Within my being I feel the ache of prices paid for victory's sake.
Although I'm weary of death and war, I must be brave at twenty-four.
Pain and grief tucked away, replaced with strength renewed each day,
that's been embedded centuries deep, and glow with hope for us to reap.
And everywhere a silent prayer emitted from a soldiers heart
rings out upon this historic land, of which we are a part!
Israel Strikes Back
I hear the clock ticking at the nuclear power plant
While sophisticated weapons generate a war-like dance.
A mounting fear engulfs the world as we become concerned
of the impact of these kidnappings and what intelligence has learned.
Combatting terriorism and further attacks, Israel has no choice,
Showing utmost restraint, the military must strike back.
Hezbollah rockets continue to rain down, Haifa and then, town after town.
Assaults from entities that want Israel snuffed out. A country so small
with determination and clout.
It's a long battle to keep embassies secure, no country can be a target,
that is for sure.
Decades have passed and the threat of war looms, spy satellites, modern weapons accelerates and booms.
Can the nations of the world live in peaceful co-existence
as missiles armed with warheads are poised from a distance?
Can the nations of the world promote peace instead of war?
So our children and grand-children are safe as never before!
~~~~~~~
from the September 2006 Edition of the Jewish Magazine
|
