Poem: The 2023 Gaza Nativity

You might think this a bit premature; but the idea came to me this morning in a flash, so I thought I’d share it. And anyway – if you reflect on the original story, it began a good while before December 25th.
There is no hand written draft this time because I just sat down at the keyboard, tapped out the original idea, and then kept making changes until I thought the words ran well.
15th November 2023

Oh, we’ve thousands of desperate Marys and Josephs to choose from,
And hundreds of suffering little Jesuses,
All perfect for the part;
Plus, obviously, an almost infinite supply of Herods,
Every one as evil as you could wish!

Also there’s definitely no room in the inn;
Or, rather, what’s left of it.

But nobody can arrange a star;
And the artillery star shells they’ve plenty of,
Are very keen to send up for us,
Just won’t do.

Meanwhile – no matter how hard we look,
However many people we ask…
Not a wise man to be found anywhere.

© Christopher Jessop 2023