Still Counting

When can we count the dead in Gaza,
where dead or living the people don’t count.
Those buried in named graves we know
but those buried in the rubble
are unknown
uncounted.

In Israel where people count,
we know the numbers,
and the the names.
But this is no war of equals
so no need to count the dead in Gaza.

In this war on women and their children
how can we count the injured in Gaza.
No one knows the number,
no one can count the numbers
when there are no hospitals left
and its people don’t count.

Now the starved and starving
have joined them,
the bags of baby bones
the unaccounted numbers
of intentional famine
in Gaza where still
no one counts.

The disappeared of Gaza: tens of thousands missing in territory since start of war

Lynn White lives in north Wales. Her work is influenced by issues of social justice and events, places and people she has known or imagined. She is especially interested in exploring the boundaries of dream, fantasy and reality. She was shortlisted in the Theatre Cloud "War Poetry for Today" competition and has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize, Best of the Net and a Rhysling Award. You can find Lynn at https://lynnwhitepoetry.blogspot.com and https://www.facebook.com/Lynn-White-Poetry-1603675983213077/ Read other articles by Lynn, or visit Lynn's website.