I'm lying here staring out the window,
The ground is not moving and
The house is not shaking.
Silence fills the air
Broken by the odd neighbour talking,
Not screaming,
The odd car purring past,
Not exploding,
Or the odd child laughing as the play,
Not crying
As they die.

I don't lie here on rubble
Or choke on dust and ash,
I know where my friends and family are,
And I'm not exactly strapped for cash.

I'll sigh this evening about work tomorrow
But at least I know I can get there in one piece,
That the building will most definitely be there and that the children I teach
Will arrive safely with all that they need,
And while we might groan about the daily grind
There are people, human beings, in Aleppo,
To whom that is all a distant memory in their mind.