A Gift of a Poem

Oh my goodness. I so wish I had written this. But it takes one who is living it to write such words. It resonates so strongly and is one of the most beautiful anti-war and pro-unity poems I have ever read. I just had to share it. I had not come across this poet till now. But she is a wonder. Googling her, I found her at Fault Lines Poetry online, but am having trouble finding much information about her.

Love Letter from Baghdad

by Gail Barker

Call me Rabia. I was

named for the Sufi Saint.

Blood pumps through the four

chambers of my heart,

swift and scarlet with joy or slow

and bruised black with sorrow.

We are the same.

This morning, as I pin up wash

in my rubbled court yard,

the long fingers of the sun reach

over the desert and sting my sleepless

eyes like dust, like diesel fumes.

There’s an explosion.

Did you hear it?

My neighbor sinks to the ground

in the folds of her burka,

a dark flower, rocking and keening,

her bloodied grandchild in her arms.

The earth trembles with

the terrible sound of her grief.

We are the same.

I want to share sweet memories

with you, of date palm and pomegranate,

the hay fragrance of saffron, the song

of the nightingale. I invite you

to share yours with me.

We are the same.

Come sister, let’s raise our arms

and begin. We’ll spin

and dance like the Sufis.

It will take as many turns

as there are stars

to make this right.

We do not yet know the steps.

            - Gail Barker