Issues

Palestine

Abir

Posted on Saturday June 2, 2007

“Abir Aramin and her sister Arin, who are classmates, went to buy some candy at a nearby store, when Abir suddenly began bleeding from the head and collapsed.” Haaretz

How you longed for fourth grade
As you walked to the nearby store
How you longed for fourth grade
As your head let the blood stream
And stain your green school uniform

Fourth grade is the perfect grade
You learn about the Stone Age
You read slightly longer stories
And sneak candy into classrooms

In fourth grade you have just the right amount of homework
You are neither too busy to play tag with the neighbors kids
Nor too bored to start biting on your nails

Even as you fell to the ground
You thought about geometry
You thought about the things you haven’t yet learned
The mammoth
How water from the rivers transforms to rain
And how lungs function

You thought about your mom’s spinach pie
How it melted in your mouth
And you secretly knew it tasted better than candy

I wish you had time to fall in love
Frame your graduation pictures
Read a 300 page novel
Decide if you believe in God
Drink coffee
Watch your feet grow
And reach the top shelf in the kitchen

Before your head lost its balance
You owned a world
Distinct and spacious
Crammed with colors and feathery hair bands
You were sitting beside our world
With your legs dangling
Observing its curves and absurdities

Remember when you cut your hair for the first time
And insisted on having bangs
Because you wanted them to cover your eyes
Every time you are scared of green army boots

Are you less scared now?

Tala A.Rahmeh