"Farewell My Beloved x 300"
(a.k.a.  "The 300+ Dead Children of Gaza" a.k.a. "The Human Shields"  a.k.a. "The Others")

Remember the time you were running in the living room

And I yelled at you -- I said

When you run,

The breeze you make bothers me

Now...

Now my child

I wish I could collect every molecule of that breeze,

And every molecule of fragrance that it carried of you

To get a whiff of the sweet smell of your flesh

Once more

Just once more!

Gone are the days I held your face in my palms

And kissed your curly locks

Gone are the nights I would get up from my warm bed

Just to take a look at your sweet, gentle face

I know I promised that I wouldn't hug you too hard,

But when we meet again,

I will hold you harder than I've ever held you before

And I will hold you longer than I've ever held you before

But for now,

I will pray that when the angels call you to play,

They will call you as I do – "habibi" – my beloved

Farewell habibi . . .

 -- AK