Throughout the week, I heard booms in the distance
Periodic thunder claps in a cloudless sky
Iron Dome doing its work to intercept missiles
From hostile neighbors
A wonder of technology and ingenuity.

Another wonder: the alert system.
One kind of siren tells you to mosey.
Something may be coming in your general direction
Start making your way toward the shelter … just in case.

We got the “mosey alert” twice
Which turned out to be not nothing
–because a bomb WAS launched
From Lebanon or Iran
But either it didn’t cross the Israeli border
Or it fell into an open field
Or changed trajectory to be further away.

But the next-level siren says, MOVE IT!
Something is definitely headed your way.
Run to the mamad* — NOW!
My friend Maya in Kfar Vradim (the North) has had her life disrupted
4, 5, 6 … 10 times a day
Because Hezbollah’s self-exploding drones don’t tell you their schedule.

So, schools close
Businesses shutter
Human contact is restricted
How can you shop for food when stores are closed?
Do you risk taking a shower
Or meeting a friend for coffee
When you have only 90 seconds to get safe?

In Caesarea, we heard the MOVE IT! siren.
Followed 75 other hotel guests down the stairwell
Into the basement shelter.
Everyone taking it (seemingly) in stride
Unnerving my husband who’s usually the
Fearless protector of the two of us.

People chatted among themselves
In rapid-fire Hebrew I could not understand
Checked phones for updates – is worse on the way?
Then, a bridal shower party including a
Very pregnant matron of honor
Started singing!

Like a joyful offering on the altar
The all-clear signal
Blessedly came through moments later
Grateful, grateful that it was merely a 20-minute adventure
Of sirens and signs and wonders.

* A mamad (ממ״ד) is a reinforced security room integrated directly into homes and apartments in Israel, designed to protect occupants during rocket attacks, missile fire, and chemical threats. The term is a Hebrew acronym for Merkav Mugan Dirati, which translates to “Apartment Protected Space”.