Skip to main content
Michael Rosen - Dead Children
Well Versed is edited by JODY PORTER

Dead Children
Michael Rosen

Israel bans radio advert listing names of children killed in Gaza
(The Guardian, 24/07/14)

Don't mention the children.
Don't name the dead children.
The people must not know the names
of the dead children.
The names of the children must be hidden.
The children must be nameless.
The children must leave this world
having no names.
No one must know the names of
the dead children.
No one must say the names of the
dead children.
No one must even think that the children
have names.
People must understand that it would be dangerous
to know the names of the children.
The people must be protected from
knowing the names of the children.
The names of the children could spread
like wildfire.
The people would not be safe if they knew
the names of the children.
Don’t name the dead children.
Don’t remember the dead children.
Don’t think of the dead children.
Don’t say: ‘dead children’.

The 95th Anniversary Appeal
Support the Morning Star
You have reached the free limit.
Subscribe to continue reading.
Similar stories
suede
Live Music Review / 12 February 2026
12 February 2026

SUSAN DARLINGTON swoons in the presence of a magnetic frontman

https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/menzies-punches-table-frustration-after-first-round-loss
Features / 16 December 2025
16 December 2025

The catastrophe unfolding in Gaza – where Palestinians are freezing to death in tents – is not a natural disaster but a calculated outcome of Israel’s ongoing blockade, aid restrictions and continued violence, argues CLAUDIA WEBBE

Press cuttings of the Angry Brigade, 1973
History / 18 October 2025
18 October 2025

With the recent release of Paul Thomas Anderson’s movie One Battle After Another, STEPHEN ARNELL gives the storied history of the British real-life left-wing urban guerillas