The little Palestinian child
Is almost not there,
So absent is flesh
From his skeleton.
In the photo we see him
Lying on a table
Looking directly at the camera
With enormous brown eyes.
He has his tiny hand
Wrapped around the thumb
Of an adult
Who is mostly
Out of the picture.
Beneath him is a fleece blanket
On which are pictured
Pink and blue squares,
A white star inside a blue cloud,
A tan teddy bear.
Perhaps it is the blanket
He has slept with every night
Since he was born,
A blanket that comforts him,
That makes him feel safe.
And as this little wasting-away baby,
This starving infant,
Looks deep into the lens
At you and at me,
He has an enormous smile
On his face,
A baby’s smile,
Completely open and loving,
Completely trusting,
Saying to us
“I know you will take care of me.
You promised.”
