Hope you are alright
Do I remember your brother?
Of course I do
We used to play together
On the roof of our house
In Baghdad.
How is he?
Midday
At Kahramana roundabout
Under the glary heat of Baghdad’s sun
A white bearded man
Wearing a white dishdasha
Carrying a heavy water melon
Approaches home
His steps
Slow
His toes cling desperately
To heavy mud coloured
Mo’aad** flip-flops
Midday
At Kahramana roundabout
Under the glary heat of Baghdad’s sun
A three humvee convoy
Moving fast towards
The sheltered zone
Explosion
A white bearded man
Lies on the ground
His eyes gazing at the bleeding heart of Baghdad’s sun
His white dishdasha his chest his legs covered in red
His mud coloured
Mo’aad flip-flops
Immersed
In a pool of thick blood
Do I remember your brother?
!Of course I do
He used to laugh aloud
On his own silly jokes
How is he now?
Still laughs aloud?
I hope.
by Nedhal Abbas
