Poem by Judy Kronenfeld

One
“Yemen’s Covid Coverup,” Frontline

Little Hassan sits on the examining table,
his arms snappable twigs, his ribs
washboard, his belly swollen. He pats
his palm on his chest to show
where it hurts. He is eight years old,
but he looks like four. He does not go
to school. His belly hurts, too,
he signs. Malnutrition has stolen
most of his hearing. His head
bends to one side, looking way too
heavy for his ravaged body, and he smiles
a little, like a very old man, probably because
there are people paying attention.
The nurse who runs the clinic
is agitated about the worldwide
concern with Covid. Where is the vaccine
for our war? she asks. She laughs
scornfully, hopelessly. Starving Hassan
will be treated, and sent home
to starve, treated and starved,
one of two million. Right now
he wants us to know his chest
and stomach hurt.
I cannot unsee his face.

Judy Kronenfeld's fifth full-length collection of poems, Groaning and Singing, was published by FutureCycle Press in February, 2022. Previous books include Bird Flying through the Banquet (FutureCycle, 2017), and Shimmer (WordTech, 2012).

Photo by Alexis Rhone Fanche

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