For those loved ones holding their breath,   
waiting to hear the names, see the faces,

and those for whom the hostage exchange 
will bring only more pain, more sorrow,

more questions for which we have no answers,
we wait with you, all of us afraid to breathe, 

asking why we still breathe at all
when so many have been lost.

We beg for blessing, for love, for you,
we want to hold you, yet understand

that hope and love sometimes sear the flesh,
inflict deeper pain, do not comfort.

To the tyrants of all nations, 
who place their people upon the altar,

who sacrifice them gladly to the gods
they worship, to power and to greed,

may your names be consumed in the flames of justice,
may you vanish like fog fleeing from the rising sun.





(c)marthahurwitz2025