Driving in Israel
Across from Gaza
Tanglefoot stretched across the Negev scrub
And you think
People live this way

Every day they see this thin wire
Leading lines for a photograph of a dual captivity
And that’s just how it is

On the beach in Tel Aviv,
A topless woman with a rifle
(Really cuts down on the sexual harassment)
And a few miles away women
Who can’t leave their own house
Without a male minder

I’ve seen these things
And wondered
How we made it this far

Just dumb luck
Intelligence is a parasite
Piggybacking for a time
And soon will abandon its host

I saw the world and it saw me
But wires pulled taut across
The desert of my own mind
Have so far kept me from the answers