Can you see that little boy? A poem by Dr. Rickey Miller

Can you see that little boy?
 
Can you see that little boy?
He stands amid the rubble that was once his world
He sees the mangled bodies of his mother and father, his sisters and baby brother, scattered in blood-soaked heaps
His house lies in ruins, the remaining walls crumbling as he looks on
He hears the explosions, the bullets flying furiously in every direction
He is unable to flee
The terror holds him hostage
 
It is easy to look away
Even easier to be blind
To fall willingly into the thick fog of churning, powerful currents of passion and ideology
Finding comfort in the ever-tightening binds of tribal identity
Reaffirming carefully crafted logical justifications for his plight
 
Can you feel his horror? His pain? His grief?
 
Or does his image fall on desensitized, numb hearts
Running from reality
The value of his life resting on an answer to a single question: Is he one of ours?
And so we lose touch with our humanity
And betray our proudly proclaimed belief that all human life is precious
 
Yes, he is one of ours
 
He is the little boy standing in the ruins of his kibbutz
He is the little boy standing amidst the devastation in Gaza
He is the little boy standing in the unending night of captivity
He is the little boy standing beside his burning home in the West Bank
 
Can you embrace him?
 
And look into his eyes, human to human
And hold him with tenderness
And promise you will shout with all your might
To demand an end to the cycle of killing
To demand his release and freedom for all held captive
To do all you can to protect his precious life
To join your voice with all those
Who see two peoples sharing the land
As the only way forward?
 
And if not now, when?

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Dr. Rickey Miller is a retired clinical psychologist. She has over forty-years of experience working in general hospitals and later in private practice helping people cope more effectively with health and emotional problems. Many of her patients sought assistance for trauma caused by war. She has a passion for music and plays the violin in a community orchestra. Her most cherished dream has always been to touch hearts and minds through her writing. Her memoir, A Very Narrow Bridge: Reflections of a Psychologist, will soon be released.