Palestinians, Balletic
Palestinians,
Balletic
Massive crowds,
of
Israeli police beat mourners
with batons,
her coffin
a military raid
where her body rested
Akleh’s coffin
almost dropped to the ground.
crowds carrying Abu
Akleh’s coffin
a
Mount of
Olives, a family plot
honoring
the latest
Victim of Israeli occupation
living in
the air
watch i n
g
From Jerusalem to Jenin
“God is greatest,” some chanted in Arabic.
let us
finish the day
blue, bullet-resistant
and Abu Akleh’s coffin fell toward the ground.
the
killing
the chronic tension
deliberate
ballistic
Israel
expert
bullet
Palestinian s
balletic
Explanatory Note:
This poem is an erasure from a Washington Post article dated May 13th, 2022, with the headline: “Massive crowds, police beatings as journalist’s funeral is held in Jerusalem,” detailing the descent of armed Israeli police in riot gear, beating Palestinian mourners and pallbearers carrying reporter Shireen Abu Akleh’s coffin to its final resting place. Abu Akleh had been shot while wearing a clearly marked press vest and helmet, in a precision shot just above her eat, where the helmet didn’t cover.
The word “balletic,” ending this piece, meaning related to or characteristic of ballet, was captured in screen shot for this erasure, but has since been corrected to “ballistic” at the link, though with no mention of the revision history in the article itself.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/05/13/shireen-abu-akleh-al-jazeera-israel-jenin/
Bazeed is a multi–award winning Egyptian immigrant, poet, playwright, spoken word artist, stage actor, performance artist, and cook, living in Brooklyn. An alliteration-leaning writer of prose, poetry, plays, and pantry lists, their work across genres has been published in print and online, and their plays performed on both sides of the Atlantic. To procrastinate from facing the blank page, Bazeed curates and runs a monthly(ish) salon and open mic in Brooklyn, and is a slow student of Arabic music.