
These eyes
The trust, the love, the bond—
so fresh, so fragile,
so strong already.

These eyes
The trust, the love, the bond—
so fresh, so fragile,
so strong already.

Wandering around the Albuquerque Airport Terminal, after learning my flight had been delayed four hours, I heard an announcement: “If anyone in the vicinity of Gate A-4 understands any Arabic, please come to the gate immediately.”

I stayed behind with our dogs for a couple of days, a decision my husband and I had made together, while my husband hoped for a miracle five hundred miles away.

They don’t publish the good news.
The good news is published by us.

I hope you will never hear bombs, child
and hide in bunkers for hours, sometimes even days

I try to peel the scotch tape from the windowpane—
so stubborn I can’t claw it off
I stop by the nearest supermarket
for sponges and cleaning gloves
throw in some steel wool
for good measure

Not one word
can describe
the essence
of who I am
and what I stand for.
It changes.

…
“Stop” is my frequent request
to quiet the voice that comes out of a globe
too often unwanted and unasked
and always unaware of my mood and needs.
It blabbers nonsense, it’s overly friendly,
Alexa, a pretender, a sales robot, eager to please.
But I am not buying.

…
Treating people with dignity,
it’s easy with “normal people,”
as we define them socially.
Work, income, and a structured life—
that’s how it has to be, only then
are you considered worthwhile—generally speaking.