Mr Potato Head and the Middle East Crisis

by Leah Kaminsky

ZAKA - members of this organisation, most of whom are Orthodox Jews, aid in the identification of the victims of terrorism and other disasters, gathering body parts and spilled blood for proper burial.

after the blast he fell apart
they found his left arm on Hechalutz Street
his right foot on Ha’atzmaut
and his hat, corner Herzl and Nevi’im

they came from ZAKA to piece him back together
those pious men with beards and sidecurls
a mitzvah* so holy to bury him whole
they placed bits of liver into zip-lock bags

when he was new
body parts would hold tight
no crushed ribs or squeaky joints
nowadays his feet are bound with tape

they couldn’t find all of him
so they went downtown
to the toyshop near Suidan’s bakery
and asked for spare parts

Abu Musa rummaged through an old box
of noses, ears and smiles
and kindly donated
a moustache to the cause

at the funeral Potato Head stood one-eyed
on the freshly dug grave
and wished they made accessory tears
he could slot inside his plastic heart

*mitzvah - good deed