Alphabet Poem by Mohammad Yousef

A is for Ali bin abi Tablib, symbol of love, mercy, understanding, wisdom, justice and tolerance.

B is for baby born man, to ease wife, mother, father and tribe

C is for catastrophies that fall upon our heads, in the middle east

D is for disasters that incur from recurring crises in the middle east.

E is for eggs, scrambled, poached, fried, omelettes left uneaten on plates, abandoned on the stove that morning when the bomb exploded and killed innocents in Jableh

F is for fire in our hearts that will never be extinguished, for flowers, the ones which will grow years from now through the cracks of blasted walls and hearts

G for the name of your great sister, she could have been yours or mine, who you pushed onto the train to the next village against her will (proposing that marriage is better than singlehood)

H for house, home, hut, hiding place, nowhere to hide, hymns, Hope.

I for you and me, who struggle to live in the minimum.

J is for jail where protesters huddle together,40 in one cell that resembles the coffin.

K for for kites flying, kicking balls, karaoke nights in bars and the days we took for granted. Kindness lost.

L for Loss, what we lost and what we will and for those love letters tied with a ribbon, left behind in the shoe box under the bed. Listen to me.

M for mother, yours, mine, the one turning in her grave, the one in her bed, the one in a wheelchair, the one who walked a hundred miles carrying her baby, the one who couldn't and the woman who walked instead of her. Milk. Black milk.

N for never ending, nothing making sense. Not sure where God is right now. Now.

O for occupation. Occupied, pre-occupied, post-occupied. One. Only. One chance. Only. One humanity diminished.

P for Palestine (countries not allowed) People, person, poet, preacher, pears in your garden glistening in the sunlight with dew a moment before the shelling, Gaza strip is another fight for life.

Q for questions, about you, me, and us? Why not you, me or us? Some are answered, others not. Quest.

R for rats crawling out of the sewage at night bewildered by the smoke, for roses on graves and at shrines, and for those who won't be properly buried, but still will rise. Still we rise. Rain, when heaven cries.

S for Syria, my country, (not allowed) songs we never sang, sirens through the night, shelling for a month, silence in my head, speak to me God.

T for tea the one you offered me when I came to your village with a gun, the one too hot and too sweet and which I left to cool on my desk never knowing I would never drink it. Talk. Talk to me, I am listening.

U is for Ukraine, Another proxy war for the west (not allowed) . Understand. Not understanding. Useless. Unless…

V for vultures no longer circling the sky above the church or the mosque. Volcano erupting. That's what it looked like.

W for waiting, waiting for it to end. Writing. Why bother? Why? wait.For wife who fills my life with zeal and zest

X is for the X in the questionnaire box- either you're in or out.

Y is for Yemen (not allowed) You and me. Now it's only You.I am no longer in life

Z for zero. Zero left. Back to A above. Zulfiqar, sword of Zulfiqar. Ali bin Abi Talib, Protector of All.