I wrote this one after returning from Cairo. I went with the Gaza Freedom March and together with 1300 peace activists from around the world we hoped to go to Gaza to stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters there. Ultimately, we hope to break the siege. The Egyptian government prevented us from leaving Cairo. This is my response.....

these walls you build
the violent rupture of a soul
as post holes invade her
deep into her flesh
sometimes where no one can see
masochistic bludgeoning of a weakened nail
the pounding makes you strong
justifies your blackened heart
as you try to take what you can never take
you steal the essence that cannot be captured
in an Egyptian bottle
you
cling to falsifications and calsifications of the mind
you bleed in the streets
and allow your wounds
to fester
bloody pus oozing from your pours
victimization not salvation
starvation of the collective spirit
so you steal someone else's
pulverized like the very olive
lovingly harvested into the hands of the
life givers
this is not the poem i meant to write
yet this is what
you forced me to say