I am not one but two
a soul filled with wonder and
a soul filled with horror
delight and dread
gratitude and grief
unfathomable gratitude and inconsolable grief

diamonds of sunlight dance on wavelets
as cool autumn breezes waft over the Reach
while air choked and cloying weighs over
ruptured bodies in Tel Aviv and Gaza City

black-clad dancers lilt and whirl
bringing a cello suite to rapturous life
while khaki-clad militants fire round after round
composing their own discordant symphony of death

squash pear soup and Tinder Hearth bread
attend tender conversation with kind-hearted neighbors
while tortured screams and violent sobbing
wash over the rubbled remnants of a family home

delight and dread
wonder and horror
gratitude and grief
wholehearted gratitude and heart-wrenching grief
I am not one but two
Kyrie eleison …