by Lois Marie Harrod
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| An installation in the form of a dinner table set for Shabbat, the Jewish sabbath, stands outside the Tel Aviv Museum of Art—with 203 empty chairs representing those taken hostage by Hamas in its surprise attack on Israel on October 7. Photo: Tamir Kalifa for The New York Times, October 21, 2023. |
203 place settings, one for each hostage
believed to be in Gaza, no end, no beginning
of the guests who have not appeared—
only a plate, a napkin and a wine glass for each,
the photo taken as the sun sets so that the wine glasses
cast their solitary shadows on the backs of folding chairs.
Up and down what seems an endless table, wine bottles
stand uncorked, apples at each guest's place,
bread, boats of flowers as far as the camera
can frame, empty chairs for hundreds, thousands,
all those made late for dinner by the rabid angers
of a few, and there is a woman too
caught by the photographer
walking behind the empty chairs.
She wears blue jeans and cropped top.
She has with a small tattoo on her left wrist.
She is looking at her i-Phone.
She does not seem to see the endless table of empty seats.
Editor's Note: On October 21, it was believed that Hamas had captured 203 hostages; on Monday, October 23, according to The New York Times, Israel said that Hamas holds 222 hostages.
Lois Marie Harrod’s 18th collection Spat was published by Finishing Line Press, 2021 and her chapbook Woman by Blue Lyra, 2020. Dodge poet, life-long educator and writer, she is published in literary journals and online ezines from American Poetry Review to Zone 3.
