tents sag to mud & wind & children find ways to morning praise together—
stick rock feather. they squat the earth intent on a beetle’s journey. head-turn
at wind through an empty can. the call of a bird they do not know. Sitti, they
skip through starglow, legs bonethin, they sleep deep despite the din. nest
comma-curled in one bed—brother sister mother—head head head. sing prayers
to the new. memorize the maze to the toilet pit. they listen to strangers. their
haphazard flock an excuse to spit & scream. anything to forget their hollowed bellies.
wingbeats that dream a fast escape to strange lands. the stars wink wrong in the sky.
what was home becomes unknown.
*Bequaa is a region east of Beirut where many Syrian refugee families live in tents since the civil war of Syria began.
