On Seashells
Dedicated to Palestinian mothers
Seashells are easier to count than dead bodies,
so a mother tracks time one seashell a day
Her family is an empire,
she builds a monument of the days she has lived without her son
Mothers drain the seas of their shells,
so the shores shrink until East meets West
* * * * * * * *
Lands are easier to separate when there are bodies between them,
so a man flails his hands into a massacre
His soul does not know God,
he builds a border out of mothers collecting dead bodies
Men pollute the seas with corpses,
so the waters swallow their own edges and land disappears
* * * * * * * *
The sea is a witness,
he collects time and dead bodies,
borders and Truth
He will warm to house the martyred,
fossil the grief of mothers into an anchor,
and rise when called to testify
Lobna El Gammal is an Egyptian-Canadian, first generation immigrant, currently residing in Ireland. She is part engineer, part poet, full human. Lobna dabbles in literature and things creative at the intersection of “Art” and “Science”. She is committed to energy technology by day – as they say- and poetry by night, though these can often reverse. Lobna’s poetry is inspired by: art, science, nature, the diaspora experience, the Islamic faith, the Arabic language, books, and sometimes things more random like croissants and insects.
The Marbled Sigh 