we are not numbers

emerging writers from Palestine tell their stories and advocate for their human rights

Wasn’t that enough?

You asked me to undress / I took off my shirt / Wasn't that enough?
Gazan male captives.
Artist: Said Hassan

You asked me to undress.
I took off my shirt,
Wasn’t that enough?
My undershirt,
Wasn’t that enough?
My pants,
Wasn’t that enough?
My underwear,
Wasn’t that enough?
Now I am all skin in front of you.
You touched my penis with
The cold barrel of your gun and laughed.
I was shivering, not knowing whether it was
From humiliation or cold?
You asked me to raise my arms.
Maybe a handful of scents from my home,
A handful from the sand of my road were
Hidden under my armpits.
You asked me to bend and spread my cheeks.
Maybe a weapon of destruction or a tunnel
Full of terrorists were hidden there.
I see you want the flesh from under my skin.
I was dragged naked.
I was the last Jew in Auschwitz
Walking to his Holocaust.
But don’t worry, I will be as silent as the world
While you execute me.

Nina Quigley.
Mentor: Nina Quigley

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