In memory of Farid and thousands

of Palestinian children who were

robbed of their childhood, then of

their life

In the fifth month of gestation

skull bones join at the crown

of the head to protect the brain.

Farid’s skull bones failed to join.

At five, an NGO supported his trip

to US, a 16-hour operation,

a team of surgeons, assistants, nurses;

osteotomies, bones cut,

repositioned, orbital rims reshaped

—almost an artwork.

Hands surrounded Farid

like a halo, protecting

his nasal ducts, salvaging

his crucial nerves,

cutting thin strips of spare

bones as grafts to cover

the hole in his skull

to protect a childhood,

preserve a mischievous smile.

Friends with hospital staff,

Farid played tricks on them

a goofball, always joking around,

he loved to be tickled in return.

~

Seven years later, the hands

of many adults push

a button, fire bombs

that leave an enormous hole

in this world, as vast

as the life in Farid

and all the killed children.

During my insomniac nights

I talk to those hands: the hole

you left may delay the growing

of our trees, but it will

only add to the stories

we will tell our children

as we hold hands and play

in the shade of those trees.

Yet the hole you dug will continue

living in your body

the one you will have to hide

from your children.