“An 11-year-old girl who was
critically wounded in an Iranian
cluster bomb attack on her home
in Bnei Brak earlier this month
died of her injuries …”
I read the two-line update
in my Jewish newsletter
on the afternoon before
my daughter’s 11th birthday
Sit quietly on the sofa
alone in my apartment
in New York City, I don’t
sob, the sadness stays
instead inside my chest
sinks in, makes a home
as my head tilts sideways
staring at the three dots …
She died of her injuries …
what comes next? what
has become of us, will
be coming into a world
where I learn that an 11-year
-old girl has died half way
though an email newsletter
in the “other updates” section
not a headline this story
doesn’t even merit a full
paragraph … she died …
of her injuries … of our
failure to protect her
from the sky falling and
I don’t even know her
name, not worth mentioning
so I go searching, find her
name is Nesya, a “miracle
of God” hit on Erev Pesach
and I regret the research the
moment I see in the photo
the same gold heart hoop
earrings as my daughter,
now asleep in her bed, who
will turn eleven tomorrow …
Avi Killip is a poet and rabbi who serves as the Executive Vice President at Hadar. Avi is host of the Responsa Radio podcast.
