<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; "><div class="" style="margin-right: 0.75in; "><span class="">Love Letter from Baghdad</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 0.25in; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class=""> </span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: -4.5pt; margin-left: -13.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class=""> </span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">Call me Rabia. I was</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">named for the Sufi Saint.</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">Blood pumps through the four</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">chambers of my heart,</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">swift and scarlet with joy or slow</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">and bruised black with sorrow.</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class=""><span class=""><i>We are the same.</i></span></span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class=""> </span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">This morning, as I pin up wash</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">in my rubbled court yard,</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">the long fingers of the sun reach</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">over the desert and sting my sleepless</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">eyes like dust, like diesel fumes.</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">There’s an explosion.</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class=""><span class=""><i>Did you hear it?</i></span></span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class=""> </span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">My neighbor sinks to the ground</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">in the folds of her burka,</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">a dark flower, rocking and keening,</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">her bloodied grandchild in her arms.</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">The earth trembles with</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">the terrible sound of her grief.</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class=""><span class=""><i>We are the same.</i></span></span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class=""> </span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">I want to share sweet memories</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">with you, of date palm and pomegranate,</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">the hay fragrance of saffron, the song</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">of the nightingale. I invite you</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">to share yours with me.</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class=""><span class=""><i>We are the same.</i></span></span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class=""> </span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">Come sister, let’s raise our arms</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">and begin. We’ll spin</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">and dance like the Sufis.</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">It will take as many turns</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">as there are stars</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class="">to make this right.</span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class=""><span class=""><i>We do not yet know the steps.</i></span></span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class=""><span class=""><br></span></span></div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class=""><span class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span></span></span>- Gail Barker</div><div class="" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0.75in; margin-left: 4.5pt; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; "><span class=""> </span></div></body></html>