flowers in Gaza

“My dear, my dear, the trucks are here!
I promise to bring you back a bunch,
of powdery petals to brighten our tent,
to share our table at dinner and lunch.”

but, he didn’t come back,
and, their hearts became so scared.
they ran to Rasheed Road,
and they did not find him there.
but, he must have been there,
because they saw blossoms, many, a bunch,
but, not the kind that they could enjoy in their tent.
no, not the kind they would share over lunch.

they delicately sift through blood blossoms on the ground,
red blood blossoms caked in gunpowder pollen –
he is nowhere to be found —
blood blossoms, laid still, red and fallen.

they search and search and search for hours,
hoping he is somewhere near,
all he wanted was to bring his family some flours,
all his family wants is for him to be here.