After Rachel Kann’s What to Tell the Children
A poet once said,
We are all limbs on one body
and we cannot chop off our own arm
without deep suffering.
I wonder:
How many more children’s shanks
must be amputated to create
the perfect cut of a lie?
How many limbs does a body need
to lose to realize
that it’s one of its own
holding the axe?
***
This was first published in The Alien Buddha’s Ceasefire Now” Series (Chapter 6) on April 8, 2024.
It is an English translation of the original Tagalog version below:
Ika-46 na Araw ng Pagpatay-Lahi sa Gaza
Pagkatapos ng What to Tell the Children ni Rachel Kann
Ayon sa isang makata,
Lahat tayo ay mga binti’t braso sa iisang katawan
at hindi natin maaaring tagain ang ating sariling braso
nang walang matinding paghihirap.
Naisip ko:
Ilang biyas ng mga bata
ang kailangan pang putulin para lumikha
ng perpektong tabas ng kasinungalingan?
Ilang binti at braso
ang kailangang mawala sa katawan
para mapagtanto nito na isa sa mga ito
ang may hawak ng palakol?
