Not raped, but seduced,

a sister became

a cause that unloosed

a battle of shame.

No person escaped

revenge, which is bad,

though Dinah not raped:

her lover a lad

who loved her alas,

not wisely or well,

a lover, a lass,

leading many to hell.

Revenge may seem sweet

when it acts as a rhyme

to avenge a defeat,

but when it鈥檚 a crime,

the circle of hate

is mean misdemeanor,

and this was the fate

of the brothers of Dinah

who some say arrived

from pre-Greek Cyclades,

but would not be wived

with Canaanite ladies.

When twelve of them killed

all men of Shechem

her father was filled

with disgust. 鈥淚 condemn,鈥�

he sadly declared,

鈥渢he trouble you鈥檝e caused,鈥�

and sounded quite scared,

but was not endorsed

by Simeon and Levi

who had little time

for girls who like divae

encourage sex crime,

for there鈥檚 little doubt

she favored fornication,

quite willing鈥撯�搉o shout

at her destination

except one of joy

from here to infinity,

proof to her boy

she had lost her virginity.

鈥淲ould you have us ignore

that our sister was treated,鈥�

they asked, 鈥渓ike a whore?
Your motion’s defeated!鈥�

A stalemate, it seems,

since father and sons

were fighting like teams

in noir movie reruns.

The hero鈥檚 no Bogart,

the lady鈥檚 a tramp,

but in Hebrew folk art

there is no writer鈥檚 cramp

describing the killing,

no anti-crusade

on that of those willing

to kill once they鈥檝e prayed….

just revenge for the shaming

of father and daughter,

for which they were blaming

all men plus the mortar

and bricks in the city,

though women were saved

when found by committee

to be not depraved.

Neither side can recall

what happened precisely:

revenge made it all

even out, but not nicely,

as Hamas performed

rapes the world won鈥檛 condemn.

When Jacob鈥檚 sons stormed

civilians in Shechem,

they his protests disdained:

Dinah鈥檚 loss of purity

is like whores, they complained.

Military security!

Coexistence? But whichever

program we choose

will probably never

favor gentiles and Jews.