Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCLXXI: "Phase Two"
The ink barely dry on the paper, and Phase Two of the ceasefire plan announced to the clicking of cameras.
these dark blue lips
as frost thickens on cracked panes
Gazan sky tinged red
FYI: Haaretz, Analysis, January 18, 2026: Beneath the Bombast, Trump's Cease-fire Plan in Gaza Is on the Rocks
Jan. 19, 2026: Trump Invites Putin to Board of Peace, EU States to Decline Invitation, Diplomats Say
Jan. 19, 2026: 'Gaza Is Ours': Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich Calls to Cancel Trump's Board of Peace, Israel to Resettle Gaza
And Jan. 20 2026: Trump: If France Doesn't Join Board of Peace, 'I'll Put 200% Tariff on Wine and Champagne'
Added: Against the Drowning Noise of Other Words, CCLXXII: "Gazan newborn"
a young woman
gazing long at her newborn
but his eyes
never open to the light—
Gaza's morning frost thickens
FYI: Haaretz, Opinion, Jan. 19 2026: What Is Happening to Mothers and Babies in Gaza Should Leave Us Deeply, Collectively Ashamed
As maternal mortality surges in post-war Gaza, and newborns face cold, infection and malnutrition, pregnancy and childbirth are daily fights for survival. Women and their babies, universally noncombatants, are suffering disproportionately – and serve as a measure of our moral failure
