Angel of Light

What if I believed
That an Angel of Light
Moved in, quietly
Gliding over Rafah
With hands open, pulsing
Emitting waves of shimmering light

Would I be naive
To assume it was coming
On the way, or already here
Waking up to new headlines
Of light pouring out
Washing over broken buildings,
the remnants of tanks, and children

Would I be delusional
Appealing to something external
Like a government or billionaire
Announcing it’s over
on the Kiss Cam between downs
Authority, projected from the next press briefing
dropping leaflets
information pointing here, then there
the fading sounds of deft, aerial maneuvers
from the latest flyover

Next question, please

Would I rather give in to despair
That we’re all numb and cynical, a race to the bottom
Accounting reasons why
It has to happen this, or that way
Helpless, safe pointing at a distance
easing back, into the armchair

What separates you and I,
us and them
Are we afraid to look too close
and see ourselves, averting eyes

What if I woke up
and believed
we chose something different this time