Poem on Sunday: Today He’ll Paint
Mike Jenkins
Just a boy winding his way to school,
Could be called Khaled, Mohammed or Jamil.
His school bag on his back
Is the size of a younger sibling –
Paper, pencils and water-bottle,
Someone’s son and grandson
If they are still existing.
He looks up and back
At a call from higher up –
Only the street’s clear of debris.
His city’s fallen around him,
The pillars and plaster are bones
Broken and reduced to powder,
Wires are cut arteries and veins,
Blood runs grey in the rain.
He moves quickly , knowing
He’s a target for the Occupation –
The whirr of their spying eyes
He can detect with mind-alarm.
The buildings which still stand
Judder with fear. Today he’ll paint
His father into his life again.
Mike Jenkins’ latest book, He Sings the Broken Cities, contains a number of poems about Gaza, with a particular focus on children. This is his most recent poem on Gaza and was written in the same spirit.
His recent pamphlet For Gaza, published by Red Poets, raised £500 for Medical Aid for Palestinians.
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