Buy Me A CoffeeFragments of a Litany
Gaza, 2023-24
Gaza, 2023-24
Grieve with the butchered gods of love
for Layan al-Baz, the young, the strong,
for Layan al-Baz, the young, the strong,
her soft arms cut by shrapnel,
her wounded leg a stump.
her wounded leg a stump.
May the world record unquietly
the wordless eyes of Abdul,
of Kenza, and Karam – who buried
their mothers in a barren yard.
And remember the nameless orphan, too:
removed from the rubble of a screaming ward –
blood in the mouth, her vision blurred.
Sow seeds, oh poem, for the baby, Salma,
and her shock-haired sister, Alma, twin,
mewling by the roadside when the brutal rains abate.
Feature Image: Aftermath of an Israeli airstrike on the El-Remal area of Gaza City, October 9, 2023
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