Home » Table of Contents: 20.2 » Tanka Prose 20.2 » Chen-ou Liu: it’s peaceful now

it’s peaceful now

M-16 rifles are blooming, 2000-pound bombs singing, and Merkava tanks sweeping the streets.

Gaza is cleaner than ever, clean of blood-covered children. Yet, somewhere among the rubble the only moving thing is a boy’s eyes that look up to Heaven.

a mural
on the separation wall
of the West Bank:
in midair a girl grasps
a bunch of rainbow balloons

About the Author

Chen-ou Liu


Chen-ou Liu is the author of two award-winning books, and his tanka and haiku have been honored with many awards. To see his work, visit his Poetry in the Moment blog.


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