West Bank Dignity

Ramallah, West Bank, Israel

Jalazone is a refugee camp
where stones and ashes are as common as bread
where Arab children scatter like stray cats
at the fire of God in every rifle shot

In Jalazone, hot dust falls upon
three feet of rubble once three stories tall
torn from the alley like a missing tooth
like a gravestone tipped in a childish prank

A bent man stumbles on a broken stone
A young boy stoops to place it in the trash
Nevermind the shattered millions more
One stone makes a difference in Jalazone

Kristina Arnold, 1994