Upon learning that frogs listen with their whole bodies

how then would I listen?

Photo by Francisco Gonzalez on Unsplash

Tonight down by the creek, 
the frogs are screaming 
or at least crying
or maybe just singing in a minor key. 
yet all their screams 
all their cries
all their songs
tear at my chest
until I don’t so much hear
as feel all the jagged edges of sound  
as my whole body becomes
a slippery ear.

Later, inside my face 
glows in the blue light,
and my thoughts wander to 
wondering if I could survive 
hearing like a frog. 
Or would the screams
of this child— 
this one right here in this photo
with his mouth forever open
frozen in silent agony as
he learns his father was
“eliminated”— would his cry
open my body like 
a watermelon smashing 
on broken concrete?
 
Outside, as if hearing my thoughts
the frogs’ voices crescendo piercing my 
mind and my body with all the screams 
I’ve left unsung. 

_Written April 17 2026

Venessa Tai Yeh of Opol.space is co-hosting a reading this Saturday (details and sign up here) with the wonderful Jodi Proctor. There will be poets from around the world sharing their work at the reading, including several phenomenal poets from Gaza. I warmly invite you to join us this Saturday for the reading.

This will be my third Opol reading to attend and read at and each time I feel that a space opens up for me to listen like a frog to all the heart-breaking beauty that is shared. In particular, I have been deeply touched by the poetry that my sisters in Gaza have written. Poets like Farah Elbahnasawi and Taqwa Ahmed Al-Wawi remind us that all the citizens of Gaza enduring the relentless violence are “not numbers, but lives”. I hope you can join us.

*Edit- I should have noted that this poem is in the style of Alex Dawson’s generative “Upon learning that…” prompt. For a whole book of poems that follow this style, check out her anthology. It is one of my favorites.

Take Action

A conservative estimate is that nearly 74,000 people have been killed in Gaza since October 7 2023. About 4,000 of those fatalities are since the “ceasefire” was signed last October. And I could not find more recent figures, but in the two years following October 7th, over 1000 people were killed by the IDF and settlers in the West Bank. This state-sponsored terrorism continues to be promoted at the highest levels of the Israeli government with Israel’s National Security Minister Ben-Gvir calling for the total destruction of Lebanon and insisting that for “For every tear of an Israeli mother, a thousand Lebanese mothers must weep”.

We cannot allow ourselves to become numb to this violence and paralyzed by overwhelm. It is American political support and taxpayer-funded military hardware that enables this genocidal violence. If you are American, call your senators and representatives and tell them to halt all weapons shipments to Israel. While you’re at it, tell them to not approve another dime for the Department of War.

If you call or take action this week, please comment below. There is a role of peer-courage in this work. May we strengthen each other’s resolve to continue taking action.