Genocide!

Genocide!

by Kelp

Dedicated to Alice Wairimu Nderitu

Genocide! How dare you?
how dare you
misuse
overuse
abuse
this word
this shard
this jagged edge
intent to prick
to bruise
to bleed
to pain
this word
this weaponized
word
that Jews
are sensitive to
Jews
who suffered
the evilest
genocide
or do you
also deny
that six million souls
perished
barely a generation ago
innocent men
innocent women
innocent children
innocent humans
families
brothers
sisters
husbands and wives
fathers and mothers
non-combatants
no weapons stored
in their basements
schools
or hospitals
no one gave
weapons
to the Jews
their only crime
was who they were
don’t compare
don’t you dare
don’t be flippant
or shamelessly provocative
poking and provoking
with a word that
does not apply
a word
that is out of context
a word
that you have wrongfully
co-opted
for
civilian casualties
in a war that you started
civilians die in war
it’s a terrible fact
of war,
a painful fact
we feel it too
but that’s called
War
it’s not called
Genocide

no Nazi
ever moved
a Jew
to a zone of safety
no Nazi
ever warned
the Jews
of their impending attack
no Nazi ever
inoculated
a Jew
against polio
or any other
disease
no Nazi
ever helped
facilitate the
distribution
of humanitarian aid
almost no one sent
humanitarian
aid to Jews
before or
during the war
almost no newspaper
wrote about
their suffering
they suffered
in silence
the methodical
persecution
the ghettos
the death marches
the executions
in cold blood
over pits they
were forced
to dig
in the dark forests
of Poland
the death camps
the gassing
the extermination
en masse
in the millions
in the millions
over a period of
twelve years
while the world
was engaged
in war
there was another war
a separate war
a war
against
the Jews

the Jews
were refugees
just like you
the Jews
were victims
just like you
it’s not to measure
one pain
against another
yes there are some of us
that hate you yes
answering hate
for hate
but most of us
want peace
to live with you
in peace
the people
that your people
butchered
wanted
nothing less
than peace

so no
don’t use
misuse
abuse
this word
this weaponized word
this painful word
this word
that makes me shudder
i
who lost so many
of my family
to Genocide
don’t be flippant
don’t be smart
you’re not smart
if you don’t know
history
but only your own
version of it