All Things Not Considered
By Naomi Shihab Nye

You cannot stitch the breath
back into this boy.

A brother and sister were playing with toys
when their room exploded.

In what language
is this holy?

The Jewish boys killed in the cave
were skipping school, having an adventure.

Asel Asleh, Palestinian, age 17, believed in the field
beyond right and wrong where people came together

to talk. He kneeled to help someone else
stand up before he was shot.

If this is holy,
could we have some new religions please?

Mohammed al-Durra huddled against his father
in the street, terrified. The whole world saw him die.

An Arab father on crutches burying his 4 month girl weeps,
“I spit in the face of this ugly world.”

*

Most of us would take our children over land.
We would walk in the fields forever homeless
with our children,
huddle under cliffs, eat crumbs and berries,
to keep our children.
This is what we say from a distance
because we can say whatever we want.

*

No one was right.
Everyone was wrong.
What if they’d get together
and say that?
At a certain point
the flawed narrator wins.

People made mistakes for decades.
Everyone hurt in similar ways
at different times.
Some picked up guns because guns were given.
If they were holy it was okay to use guns.
Some picked up stones because they had them.
They had millions of them.
They might have picked up turnip roots
or olive pits.
Picking up things to throw and shoot:
at the same time people were studying history,
going to school.

*

The curl of a baby’s graceful ear.

The calm of a bucket
waiting for water.

Orchards of the old Arab men
who knew each tree.

Jewish and Arab women
standing silently together.

Generations of black.

Are people the only holy land?


Title : All things not considered y Naomi Syihab Nye (looking for themes of the poem)

Reading the poem just making me feel so angry.All the thing are revolves around violent,despir,injustice,abusement,cruelty and all negatives thigs. The base of the poem is all about how the victims of the war dealing with all the hard situation.Naomi also touch the religion aspect - If this is holy,
could we have some new religions please?-  showing that how a religion could affect the situation.Belief and religion are such things that really important to fill up the emotion in dealing with the hard situation like what happened in Palestin. I think that what this poem is really trying to hint at is the idea of there being two sides to every story and conflict. In reality, there is never one true way to interpret a thought, due to the fact that people grow up being taught different theories or learning history or a way of life differently. The way that different religions and races interpret situations is based on the way that they have been raised their whole lives. For example, in the poem the author writes “Everyone hurt in similar ways at different times.” The way that I interpret this symbolic quote is exactly what I said before about different religious groups and various races experiencing the same issue or situation but reacting differently. Also, another key idea that adds to my theory is the idea that “ some picked up guns because guns were given,” and “ at the same time people were studying history and going to school.” These quotes describe that people naturally react to situations in different ways, and that these huge conflicts will not be able to be mediated until one religion or race can walk in the opposing groups shoes.