Israel

I am the burning sand that blisters your feet on the beaches
of the Dead Sea.

I am the water that burns you eyes
and lets you float.

I am the ink in the newspaper that the Norwegian tourist,
who doesn’t get enough sunlight,
reads while floating under the scorching Mediterranean sun.

I am pink, purple, red, yellow, and orange sunrise that the
American tour group wakes up at four in the morning to see.

I am the city, packed with three different religions full of history.
I am loud explosions that rock the nearby town of Beer-Sheva.
I am a country where three different religions
can’t seem to get along.

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Eitan Neumark, age 14
San Francisco, California
Lowell High School
Teacher: Bissa Zamboldi/Susan Terence (Calif. Poets in the Schools)