Seif-Eldeine O Poems

No One and Syria's Struggle to Sleep

No One washes his hands and face three times in preparation for his prayers. No One thinks this is enough to get the blood out.
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The Sound of a Forgotten Letter

I look at a photograph of the city I was born in--
its crowded roadways, its grey buildings, the white dome
...

Inside the cafe, Akhmed smokes Al-Hamra under a sign that says
"No Smoking." E'ad blows the dice before he rolls them. Basheer

stands over him and moves the checkers. (The President is on T.V.)
...

The children have never read the words
'dulce et decorum est' or seen the dove
or swam so far out that the jellyfish
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Syria/ Turkey border

The passports
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What Prayer Rugs Collect

1
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Lobster Season in Massachusetts

My dad puffs on his cigar. In the moonlight, red embers
dance like lady bugs. Concrete and brick flakes escape
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Commas Dripping
Creating
An ellipsis
Of bruise punctures
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I cut the waywrong cocaine
powder came
out. The worldclose
to wash sins in giving Christblood
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The Co-Dependent Relationship

moonlight of my word shadows
slivers of a golden chest (inside)
...