If you could take
every time
a Muslim fucked someone over during Ramadan
every time a Jew killed someone during Pesach
and every St. Valentine’s Day massacre
and put them all on the page
you’d have no more room
for these angry little poems
i. Persons of Interest
We feign interest in random obligatory conversations
Lower chin and raise eyes to emote fascination
in fastidiously choreographed moments
Later, alone, staring at the wall with equal concentration
ii. State Bodies Involved in the Creation of Illegal Outposts
The universe of our hearts is infinite
The Earth on which we stand is not
Mortar made from blood and fire
can be dissolved by tears
iii. International Tribunal for the Former…
The map that is you broken down to
longitudes and latitudes; Scars
like footsteps across a land which no longer exists
Where no one saw anything. Their eyes were
poked out. But they must have heard….
It is discussed wherever
voices are hushed
iv. ...Failed Terrorist with a Price on His Head
In that first primitive and rude state,
the introduction of money would change everything
If it weren’t already pulling every string
v. Committed of Truth and Reconciliation
Turn a cheek to hide the burn of tears
Too often confused with offering the other
vi. Multi-Million Dollar Plan to Rebuild
Ashes to dust to ashes
You cannot build with this;
Only be blinded and
seared as it blows across the wind
vii. Mission Critical APS
Stashed in a shoebox or an old laptop
The plan of the century
for the dawn of the millennium
High hopes and false pride
encrypted into every diagram
One day transformed by grandchildren,
assuming they survive your genius,
into poster art
In Ankara the
Turkish stew who wanted you
And you, self-described ‘old lion’
who never said no
Live on TV from the Hadassa ER in Jerusalem
Dr. Avi Riskin places the heart of a Jewish child on the wrong bus
into the chest of a Palestinian boy, shot by Israeli soldiers,
from a 100 yard stare down the camera lense,
“Choose life.”
In the Taxi in Ankara
while she shouted curses at you
And you wondered
Who am I
and what are you sacrificing for me
There and Then, I was young
I accepted sacrifice gracefully
assuming no pro quo
Here and Now
I know better.
Joja is the imaginary friend of Unlikely 2.0 editor Jonathan Penton. She shows up when he's feeling particularly obsessive about his "feminine side."