Poem: Fragments of a Litany | Cassandra Voices

Poem: Fragments of a Litany

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Fragments of a Litany
Gaza, 2023-24
Grieve with the butchered gods of love
for Layan al-Baz, the young, the strong,
her soft arms cut by shrapnel,
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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About Author

Ciarán’s second collection, Phantom Gang, was longlisted for the Dylan Thomas Prize 2023. His first collection, The Buried Breath, was highly commended by the Forward Foundation for Poetry in 2019. Both are published by The Irish Pages Press.

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