“At Gaza Zoo” by Yahia Lababidi

Yahia Lababidi photo courtesy of the author

At Gaza Zoo

humans & animals
shelter side by side
starving & shell-shocked

lions, parrots, monkeys
men, women, children
all fearing for their lives
all uncertain about tomorrow

Living among animals
is more merciful
than warplanes in the sky.

The zookeepers are nearly dead.

“During a Genocide” by Yahia Lababidi 
“Minister of Loneliness” by Yahia Lababidi”

Yahia Lababidi is the author of eleven collections of poetry and prose. [His most recent collection is titled Palestine Wail, from which the above poem and this author note is taken.] His aphorisms and poems have gone viral, are used in classrooms, religious services and have been featured at international film festivals. Lababidi has also contributed to news, literary, and cultural institutions throughout the USA, Europe and the Middle East, including Oxford University, Pearson, the PBS NewsHour, NPR, HBO as well as ABC Radio. His latest work includes a collection of his aphorisms on morality and mortality, Quarantine Notes (Fomite Press, 2023), Desert Songs (Rowayat, 2022), a bilingual photographic account of mystical encounters in the desert, and Learning to Pray (Kelsay Books, 2021), a collection of spiritual reflections.