'Between thee and me: Burnt acres of lemon and fig. Maybe a seed.' Photo: by Tucker Tangeman on Unsplash
Between
Poem by Dana Smith
by Dana Smith
8th December 2023
Between bullet and flesh,
a spirit rising like mist, mostly unseen.
Between the thought and the deed
a sliver of time that makes the earth quake.
Between missile and strike:
a family, turned pillar of fire.
Between speech and the ear: a storm
surge of heart. Dawn’s silence at sea.
Between this war and the field,
a wind gentling an olive tree.
Between the womb and the victor
one child, head tucked into her knees.
Between thee and me,
a spindly God crouched
in the cedar of Lebanon. Our history,
with its blood leaves scattered.
Between thee and me:
Burnt acres of lemon and fig.
Maybe a seed.
