
<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><div dir="auto" style="overflow-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;"><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">From the Sky </span><br><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><i>After Lorca</i></span><div><span style="white-space-collapse: preserve;"><i><br></i></span><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">When I die,</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">bury me in the sky—</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">no one is fighting over it.</span><br><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Children are playing soccer</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">with empty bomb shells</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">(from the sky I can see them).</span><br><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">A grandmother is baking</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">her Eid makroota and mamoul</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">(from the sky I can taste them).</span><br><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Teens are writing love letters</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">under an orange tree</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">(from the sky I can read them).</span><br><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Soldiers are cocking new rifles</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">at the checkpoint</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">(from the sky I can hear them).</span><br><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">Under fire, death and water</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">are brewing in the kitchen</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">(from the sky I can smell them!).</span><br><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">When I die, bury me in the sky,</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">I said, for now, it is quiet—</span><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;">no one owns it and no one is claiming to.</span><br><br><span style="white-space: pre-wrap;"><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>- Sara Abou Rashed</span></div></div></body></html>