I spoke to a man today
with kind eyes and contagious laughter
his passport identified him as Israeli, mine american
but for a moment, we were both just human

He told me he was a combat medic for the IDF
as we began our descent into a discussion of politics
he spoke of giving medical care to victims
of a suicide bombing, just weeks earlier

Life is fragile in places like his hometown of Tel Aviv
He showed me an app on his iPhone that
notifies him of places that were just bombed
or when to take shelter, in case of an incoming missile strike

How people must savor life in war zones like his
friends and family become temporary oases
bringing happiness and fulfillment for a moment
then gone the next

For once
there were no borders between us, or
cultural divides, just two men
discussing life, or something like it

love will be your downfall
it will bring you to your knees
within that fortress you call a heart

love will be your demise
the reason behind your untouched desires
that you'll never reach
because they were never yours in the first place

love will tear you to shreds
just to become pieces in the wind
so you'll be carried to foreign ground
and forced to rebuild

love will be your murderer
because self will crumble
as your heart bleeds out
and all you can do is watch

love will be your downfall
but
will also be the reason for the **victory