2022
Two Poems el habib louai
A Prayer to End the War Tonight I shall refuse to argue or shout: “My loss is greater than yours!” Or even complain trivially: “My pain is more valuable!” As if we have not dodged the same bombs together. As if we haven’t looked the same enemy in the eye. Tonight I will not marry the empty bed in the empty corner of the empty shelter. Tonight our dry skins and worn bones that survived immeasurable distances, that outlived sickness unto death will unite in eternal embrace & I shall eat you with kisses.
Killing Time in Times of Oblivion Nothing gives me hope anymore save the haggard eyes of the youth in plastic sandals. The distant smile on their shabby faces, hoping they will make it through life with less commotion.
148
The Lowell Review
