Sunset In Idlib Poem by Hadiza Sado

I looked outside and saw her playing in the garden
She looked so pretty, my heart cartwheeled
Pink ribbons adorned her dark brown curls
I waved hello; she beamed a smile.

Her teeth glistened like pearls in the midday sun
She was my first love -my friend
Even though I was seven, she three
I told Mama I would someday marry her.

Under an alluring twilight
We would dance, dance through the night
With ménage, friends and foes
We would welcome the stars.

I remember that cold winter night In November
When we sat around the blazing fire
Stroking Manu's rocking chair
As we listened to folklore from Arabian Nights.

The flames lit up her yellow face
The night owl hooted her name
I promised my heart to love no other
As I dreamed of her by my side someday.

It feels like yesterday
When we chased reptiles in the midday sun
Dressed in faux silk, ruby and twenty-four
I hold so dear those precious days.

She smelled of desert sand -warm and pure
Her glistening cheeks left me sore
As I wiped her tears with muddy hands
And kicked the docile hedge whence thorns abound.

Last night, I took two dates from Papa's palm
Skipping one, two stairs as I ran
Ignoring mama's call to dinner
Tabbouleh could wait till I returned.

I fell across the staircase
Blood trickled down my noble shin.
I saw her hop towards me
Butterflies fluttered in my stomach
Then the cannons came down in torrents
Like rain from the sky they fell -Good grief!
Lashing out at us, I lost count.
With a Boom! Bang! -All things wild.

She ran towards me
Her arms stretched out
Thick smoke covered her dark brown hair
And placed her pink ribbon at my feet.

The sun had gone to rest
And the moon to bed
A drowsy crowd scattered in hysteria
Men women and children ran helter-skelter.

Tears streamed down her pretty face
I held on and begged her to stay
But she smiled at me and said
‘Goodbye, Yahya, I'll see you on the other side.

Smother me now, O, Idlib
Squeeze my chest and bury my guts
Suffer me not to live in this circus
For I have become a phantom in my homeland.

Throw my songs to the birds
Lest evening comes
And I'm lost in this vivid atmosphere
Pungent with burning flesh, bones and anguish.

O, Idlib!
Your children are dying
Your young men are slaves in a foreign land
Feasting from the crumbs of yesterday's meal
Your maidens defiled by the tale of strangers.

Because of you, I have no in-laws
Because you lied, I lost my mirror.

Behold the land of two masters
Besieged by immortal mortals
Armed with egoistic altruism
How can I ever fathom?

Tonight, I watch the sun from my windowsill
Sink into the orange dusk.
I wince as the aspirin and needle
Devour my feeble flesh -'Goodnight Leila, goodnight sun'.