Do not die tonight
The heart that has become hollow
Is a sacred tomb you once built
Out of broken trinkets and feathers
Inside
A wild little girl sleeps
Holding a dream catcher close to her *****
For eternity
Rain that once pattered against your window
On nights to keep chaos at bay
Now watches over you
Silently
The neighbor’s dog howls at the
Psychic Catastrophe
As the moon dissolves into the ocean waves
Be gentle with your pain Child
She says
Know that yanking out a dozen hair strands
Will not erase ‘self-hate’
Do not stare into a mirror tonight
What you see is not You anymore
Vacant eyes and creaking bones
Your body is now home to another host
A piercing wail echoes through the night sky
And splits the city air
The broken glass on the bathroom floor
Glints like a Sailor’s forgotten treasure
Swimming over the vast red sea, kindling with its own symphony
–Afia Qamar

Ya Qamar! (My Moon!)
You are so close yet so far
But
you enlighten me
every evening
as a  
seamless czar

When life in Gaza was still normal.
Various foods were to be enjoyed.
Everything could be enjoyed easily and cheaply.
Satisfying the appetite of Gaza's culinary delights.

Really delicious typical Gazan dishes like...

shawarma , maqluba , shaksuka , mulukhiya , hummus , musakhan , manakesh , zaatar , zibdiyyit , sayadiyya , mansaf , falafel , qidra and many more.

Likewise with typical Gaza cakes such as...

kaak , baklava , kunafa , qatayef , harisa , warbat , basbousa , halva and many more.

Also typical Gazan drinks such as...

sahlab , barrad , maramiya , arak , kharoub , qamar al din , arabica coffe and many more.

When life was still normal people in Gaza always enjoyed it all.
But now life in Gaza is no longer normal because of the long chaos.
Scarcity of food and financial difficulties making life feel so heavy.
There are no longer delicious foods and people who are often hungry are forced to eat anything to survive.

They can only eat...

stale rice , lentil soup with bad taste , canned food and instant noodles that are almost expired , bread made from flour infested with worms and maggots , wild plants , animal fodder , and other inappropriate bad foods.

Day after day people in Gaza try to find anything to eat.
They eat just to survive from day to day.
If they are lucky enough to be able to get delicious food from volunteers.
It is a luxury for them.


December 2024

By Alvian Eleven