True Power

I find pieces

Among the ashes that were left

Too small to truly tell

But I knew it’s where I sat

Gathering stories

Making believe

That I could escape

That I would leave

I find pieces familiar, yet strange

For I have wandered far

And with time

I grew to love change

I learned that without those pieces

I’m still whole

Shedding them off had failed

To make me feel small

The earth gives me power

And I, like you, little flower

Have learned to push the concrete aside

Have learned that I no longer need to hide

And I came to know my true power

Protection Spell

The monsters won’t find you here

My little one

As I hold you dear

The monsters won’t find you

In my belly where I protect you

And in a short while

I’ll see your smile

And I’ll know

The monster won’t find me

Anymore

Ever

Winds and Memories

This familiar wind

Hot and dry

Carrying pieces of my old self

As it hurries by

And smells that no longer exist

Perfumes no money could buy

This familiar wind

Carries pieces of my old river

Euphrates

Reminding me of nights spent together

Eating ice cream

Watching the candles light up the stream

Making wishes

Dreaming a dream

This wind passes much too quick

And I rush looking for a jar

Or a bottle

I want to save you

For my selfish reasons

And trap you

Like the memories that trap me

In a place that I no longer know

If it still exists

If it could resist

The bombings and the shootings on a small town

How could you, wind, turn this around

And take me to a moment of peace

As I float

Another piece

Of history

That no one remembers

Organic matter

That’s easily recycled

Easily blended

Easily camouflaged

Between the wind and the sand

I reach out my hand

As if to hold yours

My old self

You did good

You escaped that neighborhood

Where no child, or adult

Was safe

Where bombs did not discriminate

Stuck between love and hate

You soared far

And maybe you have the winds to thank

Or a God somewhere

Watching a dreaming child

And allowing her to yet dream

Oh how these dreams have changed

How your life has changed

Old self

You did great

Fair

I come from a land with skies

So clear

Sands vast

Where no shadow can last

I come from a land that begs for clouds

For rain

Yet here I am

Half a world away

Sitting

Watching

Yet another rainy day

While my lands

Die of thirst

Irony of this unbalanced curse

The House and The Home

I thought

If I could teach him a word or two

Something familiar

Something I once knew

From the words my family used to say

Or a lullaby

That takes fears away

If I could mimic HOME

Within a house

I could root myself

With my spouse

And create a new language

Not entirely his

Neither my own

Ours

In a new home

Stimulus Check Equivalent in Iraq

For hours, in lines we waited

Feet bare

Flies and mosquitoes hung in the air

The afternoon sun could not be kind

As it left no shelter for us to hide

Until we got our sacks of flour and some rice

Enough to fill our bellies and dampen our cries

A Tree’s Memory

She remembered a sky glowing red

Noises in her head

Figures that screamed

Others that whispered

And some that bled

She remembered joyful wonder

Cries of surrender

Stars that wept

Nights when she slept

On a warm earth

Nothing else beneath

No sheets no shields

She remembered before she was this magnificent tree

She was a woman

Wondering what she’ll be

When this earth turns to dust

Obstrepeeous

Silent was the crowd
After moments of obstreperous cheering
As they learned that her death
Was not in the script
Was not in the play
But they couldn’t help staring

Darkness

Did you ever think to bring a second candle?
The optimist in you did not think the darkness will last
The wax dripping off of its handle
As it burns much too fast
But I who’s seen darkness, I who was birthed away from light
I hoard all the candles
Fearing that they might
Not be enough

Lost

I think I lost my way

Trying to figure out a new destination

I think I lost my purpose

Following this automatic navigation

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