By Yoanna Hailu
As a soldier I was taught that they're just silhouettes
My eyes were trained to strip them of their humanity
For in the eyes of a soldier there is no room for regrets
The children of West Bank play hide n’ seek no more
Tiny brown bodies lay beneath rubble
All of their hopes and dreams robbed by war
I kill for peace
Palestinian blood mixes with the sweat on my hands
I kill for my birthright
For God promised my fathers these lands
I was only doing what I had been trained to do
I have disposed and dispossessed
More lives than I can count
Will my sins be forgiven?
Tell me...do military dogs go to heaven?
Postscript:
In this poem I express my anger and frustrations with the Israeli military. In no way am I referring to all Israelis as dogs, I am however condemning all those complicit in the oppression and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. Israeli soldiers violate Palestinians' human rights everyday without consequence which is what fuelled the emotion of this poem. Yoanna, Shalome