Poem for Gaza

How much we miss the sun between October and March

But this year I didn’t even notice she was gone

How could we complain?

All we can say is thank god the sky gives us rain

The sun came out today

She hugged me like an old friend

And said everything is okay

It's quiet outside

But she reminds me of the sun who shows her face all year

Seasons aren’t marked by light and darkness

But by the smell of strawberries and jasmine

Somehow the sound of wind turns to drones

And the smell of pine turns to jasmine

The sound of playing turns to screaming 

The smell of strawberries turn to death 

And the smell of soil turns to dust 

Dust that used to smell like home

Every brief moment of joy

Every laugh and embrace

I remember the nurses in Gaza

Who asked we write on their graves 

In bold script should say:  Here lie those who love life but could not find a way to live it 

But its such a lovely day? 

I am standing on this quiet mountain 

Walking through a sea of noise

Watching the couple have a picnic at the park 

Laughing and tasting grapes 

They remind me of those sunny days 

Watermelon juice dripping down our sleeves

Sticky sand and silly gossip

Singing the words hashrab hashish

Really, the sea is so lovely and so blue

How much blood could there be? 

Does it all wash away into the sea? 

How lucky are we to live near such beautiful trees?

But how much blood has watered these mountains and rivers of ___?

I try to remember to thank god the sky gives us rain

And thank god the rain gives us trees

Like the date tree in your backyard 

She was poisoned in 2018 

You said

“I will not pull out your roots”

“The sun is all you need”

And you sat at her feet inspecting her seeds

And generation after generation of fruit grew and fell 

Ramadan 2023 she said 

“Next year you will see!”

“Thank you for how you loved and nourished me” 

“The sun and the seasons are all I need” 

“In March 2024 you will come break your fast with me”

I am so sorry habibti

But the fruit these days are strange

They have an awful smell 

How much more blood can pour into the sea? 

And how much more poison can suffocate the trees? 

Hiking for hours on top of rocks and stones

I think of the family walking 30 kilometers south

Trekking for hours over rubble and ruin

I think of the girl who carried her baby brother 

And that same girl who walked alone

I think of the boy who ran from snipers

And the boy who fell to them

I kick these rocks down the path

As the pebbles fly and the dust settles

I look for the child buried under the rubble

Like a child loves collecting rocks

I want to gather all these stones 

Carry them so I always have something to throw