'For Mohammed Zeid Of Gaza': Poem Analysis

A young, innocent child was killed as a result of an Israeli attack. Yet this was not one of few attacks that have occurred, but one of many in Gaza by the Israeli military. In Naomi Shihab Nye's poem "For Mohammed Zeid of Gaza, Age 15," she criticizes and inspires society to object and respond to the unrest and violence occurring in Gaza, through contrasting the bullet's effects to those of stray objects and criticizing the bullet and how it is personified by many. Nye describes that a bullet can not exist on its own, but rather exists to kill people, challenging the belief that the bullet is harmless. Nye compares the bullet to a shy cat, an stray and innocent animal, stating that there is no bullet that is a "worried cat crouching under a bush, " nor a "half-hairless" puppy.
As pollen is unable to cause movement for itself, it relies on the wind for movement, unlike the person who creates the path of the bullet. By comparing the bullet to the fluff of pollen, incapable of causing harm, Nye reveals the bullet's ability to incite violence. Nye also criticizes the people's descriptions of the bullet, which have personified the bullet to downplay its harmful effects. She states that the bullet was "never the friend of life." She challenges the belief of many, including the media, who state that the bullet is stray and harmless. Unlike the media, which starts the belief that the bullet is innocuous and the people who then concur with the media, Nye states people will continue to personify the bullet. She emphasizes the harmful intent of the bullet to incite violence, criticizing those who downplay the effects of the bullet, not an item of peacefulness. Lastly, Nye states that the bullet who killed Mohammed had "no secret happy hopes". Nye personifies the bullet to exemplify its dangerous effects and its potential as a life-taker. Her positive diction in describing what the bullet was not implies a sense of