Samuel Poem by fraidoon warasta

when the sky turns on the night
i turn off the lights
i'm samuel
i'm 8
i was born in aleppo
i want to rest
to rest peacefully
i believe is my right

but when i'm about to fall a sleep
i hear the flashbacks of gunshots
not from afar
as if there were another war to break out
getting closer
approaching me inch by inch
i close my eyes
i shut my ears with my hands
i creep under my bed
where my cat already
has taken shelter
i read anguish, fear and also hope
in her eyes
but she is still
it's blinding,
deafening,
contaminating the soul of trees

when the new year eve
in rotterdam is over
only the wind would be able
to draw the curtains
of this smoky sky
and it'll shine again
bright blue

fraidoon warasta
17 december 2021
limburg