How does the poet bear witness to tragedy or more difficult aspects of human life?
In both Amichai’s poems, The Diameter of the Bomb and God has Pity on Kindergarten Children, Amichai talks about the unfairness of adults being dragged to war, and there is no God to protect them. As adults are left on their own to die, God only cares for young children. Amichai feels this way because he has gone through Isreali-Palestinian conflict and shows signs of PTSD. He writes in clear imagery of the tragedy he witnessed. His depressing tone as he talks about the war and the innocent deaths reaches out to the readers as we get a glimpse of the horrors of war. Through his poems, I realized the fragility of human life and the ugly misfortunes that come with war.
I’m really glad that you mentioned that he is demonstrating signs of PTSD! It is clear that he is not a proponent of war and violence. The focus needs to shift from mechanical terms to human impact. In terms of the concerns with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, even in his poem, “An Arab Shepherd Is Searching for His Goat on Mount Zion” he wishes for peaceful Islamic and Jewish relations. Through all his religious references it is clear that he imagines coexistence between the two groups.