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Todd Friedman: Two Poems
The Zone of Disinterest
“And they’re off,” a US contractor cracks
like he’s an announcer at the Kentucky Derby,
only this is a real-life Hunger Games
with Gazans running to get a package of food
knowing some of them will be shot
as the IDF uses bullets for “crowd control.”
Now in the sweltering summer
the IDF reminds Palestinians they are not
to swim in the sea.
Where to find respite?
An Israeli minister has plans for a “humanitarian city”
where the entire population
will be herded out from their tents and the rubble.
And Netanyahu, the great democrat,
wants to give them freedom to choose—
a one-way ticket to wherever.
Meanwhile, in the Zone of Disinterest,
no unwanted news penetrates
the Iron Dome that repels
all references to the Holocaust—
as the children of Gaza jostle for a pot of soup.
Israel, you have become like Joseph’s brothers
who abandoned him in an empty cistern
and then sat down to a feast.
“A light unto the nations”?
Your PR people really love that one.
And the world’s “most moral army”?
The joke ricochets
through the daily ruins.
~~~
Cain’s Song
After Major Jackson
Let me begin again this time
playing on my lyre,
the song of mist coming off the mountain,
the song of geese flying in formation.
This time let me purge my grudges
and send jealousy flying into exile.
Let me not be a mallet or a rasp or an awl.
This time let me plant calla lilies and birds of paradise.
In the evening, Brother, let me invite you to my garden,
where we can talk while watching the fireflies.
I need to make amends to the earth whom I have deeply offended.
This time let me not live in infamy.
I know I should have written sooner, Brother. Much sooner.
Do you remember how we used to climb trees together,
cupping our laughter when Mom and Dad walked underneath?
Or when we tried to sneak up on a heron
thinking we were fast enough to grab it?
You were the one who pulled me from the river
and brought me back to life.
I always found some secret place to take you
where you had never been before.
What was I doing when I reached for that rock?
~~~~~
~~~
Poem copyright 2025 Todd Friedman
Todd Friedman is a retired NYC high school English teacher who now revels in having time to write. His poems have been published in Tikkun, The Reform Jewish Quarterly and other journals.
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Brother to brother, sister to sister – how many profound apologies and radical acts of repair are needed.
Todd, thank you for writing these poems; Michael, thank you for posting them.
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Thanks, Luray!
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Yes, the news from Gaza seems to get worse by the day. I hope by writing and protesting that we can make a difference.
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As do I.
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The Zone of Disinterest is actually a deliberate death zone for women, children, and others. The ability of Todd Friedman to describe it so well is a gift to those who will pay attention, but a broken-hearted cry, too.
To follow it with Cain’s Song gives the two poems some theological intertwining; murder links them. To humanize Cain is an interesting strategy.
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The biblical references add a level of allegory and authority to the poet’s argument.
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Thank you for noticing the connection between the two poems.
-Todd
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Thank you for these, especially “Cain’s Song” (I think that what Cain was doing when he reached for that rock was starting what we call history.
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Exactly! Thank you, Richard.
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I appreciate this insight.
-Todd
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Todd, I love the lyrical conversation in your voice. It feels very intimate, vulnerable, and open. Thank you for these poems. Salam and Shalom to you dear unknown friend.
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Hi Moudi, Thank you for your kind words. I am in NYC. Maybe we will get to meet one day.
Todd
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“The Zone of Disinterest” explains it perfectly, both the title and the body of the poem. Yesterday I sat with several Gazans now in Cairo and was aghast at what I heard.
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