Poetry is not my strong suit to review or assess but this was a wonderfully accessible collection of poetry from Israeli poet Agi Mishol. Having access to the Internet helped me to find some of the meaning behind different reference in the poetry because I could search for references to Home Depot in Israel and find a statement from Mr. Abbas about the Home Depot which in his words is one link to "home-building ..the brutal weapon of Jewish extremism". Something I knew nothing about. Symbolism is so much easier to understand when you know that is being referenced.
She writes about everything from Israeli/Palestine issues, the death of her parents and the agony of reading her first poem aloud. Below is a portion of one of her poems trying to see into the mind of Andaleeb Takatkah, a suicide bomber.
Woman Martyr - exerpt
You are only twenty
and your first pregnancy is an exploding bomb.
Under your broad skirt you are pregnant
with dynamite
and metal shavings. This is how you walk in
the market,
ticking among the people, you, Andaleeb
Takatkah.
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