A Literary Magazine in Support of the Jewish Community
Teething in Captivity
For so long, hope and dread lived
side by side. Now, hope is a melted popsicle
left behind in a playground.
Did you see the ginger cherubs cocooned
in a blanket, swaddled to their mother’s chest?
Did you see her mouth with its silent scream?
Since October 7th, I’ve had three root canals.
My dentist says he has never seen such a bad case
of bruxism, the grinding of my teeth and clenching
of my jaw. There are bite marks on my mouth guard.
Kfir Bibas was likely teething in captivity.
Maybe he was given a soothing toy made from a damp
washcloth with a chilled carrot stick or frozen apple.
Disney wallpaper and a play kitchen were found
in a bedroom tunnel for terrorists’ children.
I’m told the final identification of baby Kfir
was complicated—he was stolen before his teeth grew.
Haya Pomrenze
Haya Pomrenze’s poems have appeared or are forthcoming in numerous journals including Rattle and Hanging Loose. Her poem "Bar Mitzvah Lessons" was a finalist for the Allen Ginsburg prize. She is the author of two poetry collections: Hook (Rock Press, 2007), a National Jewish Book Award nominee, and How It’s Done (Finishing Line Press, 2014). Haya is a creative arts therapist and uses poetry as a healing tool on a psychiatric unit. She is also a second degree black belt in the martial arts.
