DRINK TEA AND CHAT

Before I was born, the city was golden
Shining in the fading sunlight

Palms and Aleppo pine lined the streets
While people pedaled by

Now the singed remains of my city are all that remain

I hear stories of the good times
The memories made in a world that no longer exists
The stories serve as a nightmarish before and after
Reminding me of what is lost and will never be the same


--inspired by The New York Times travel piece, Postcard From My Past: Crossing Into Syria

BLOOD MONEY

we all shuddered
when we heard the news
16 dead
at the hands of a lunatic

immediately the question came
would they react with the same vengeance?
their holy book was burned
and they took one life for each of the 29 Suras
but now their own people have been snuffed out

apparently the first offense
had already surpassed the last
for a single gunshot took each life
but the pages burn at the same time

--inspired by The New York Times article, "In Reactions to Two Incidents, a U.S.-Afghan Disconnect"