(Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCLXII: "a bridge of bones"
written in response to Al Jazeera, December 25: Palestinian charity single "Lullaby" tops UK Christmas charts, raising funds for Gaza
Gaza’s night sky
lighted with streaks of red…
a voice in shadow,
I wish my bones could form a bridge
and carry you to our home
FYI: Watch Together For Palestine's Lullaby (official music video). Filmed in the Strip and occupied East Jerusalem, “Lullaby” reimagines a traditional resistance song:
Yamma, sing for me, mama,
Mama, sing to the wind
I wish my bones could form a bridge
And carry you to the other side
To our home, our homeland; to our pride ...
The song ends with the following lines:
They tried to bury use;
They didn't know we were seeds
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCLXIII: "freezing rain and wind gusts"
freezing rain and wind gusts ...
the length
of another Gazan night
)
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCLVIII: "fairyland reindeers and Gaza mules"
a dream and yet ...
Rudolph guides Santa Claus's sleigh
through smoky skies
then past Gaza mules hauling
a flatbed cart of bodies
FYI: Reuters, December 25, 2025: In first Christmas sermon, Pope Leo decries conditions for Palestinians in Gaza
Leo, the first U.S. pope, said the story of Jesus being born in a stable showed that God had "pitched his fragile tent" among the people of the world.
"How, then, can we not think of the tents in Gaza, exposed for weeks to rain, wind and cold?" he asked.
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCLIX: "a skeletal house"
jagged pieces of sky
in a skeletal house
Gaza's smoky twilight
Triya, Basant, 2026
Hindi Translation
छिन-भिन्न आसमान
कंकाल सा खड़ा घर
गाज़ा की धुंधली शाम
FYI: Middle East Eye, December 25 2025: Israeli strikes and demolitions reported in north and south Gaza
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCLX: "ceasefire strikes"
thin as paper
a baby's chest rises
then falls …
ceasefire exists on the news
as the sky turns smoky gray
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCLXI: "a skeletal house"
Gaza news on mute
blood-red dots spattered
on my canvas
FYI: Haaretz, December 25, 2025: Defense Minister Again Vows Gaza Settlements, Says Israel 'De Facto' Annexing West Bank
Israel Katz said IDF bases and a yeshiva should be established in northern Gaza, despite a flip-flop on the issue earlier this week after a similar statement. Katz also hailed Israel's West Bank policy as 'de facto annexation' – expanding settlements while expelling Palestinians from 'terror camps'
