Illustration by Tavi Veraldi
A Poem for the Mother
Who lost her son…
In a car crash
In a dog fight
Amid the dust mines of recessed memories
A poem for the agony
For the fear
For the future
Remembering to call her before you go to sleep
When the gunshots start pouring
When the enemies roll their
Triggers
Fingered and plastered
In blood and honor
Holistic experiments
Wander the face of the Earth
Whereas a mother’s pride and joy
Leaves the Earth
Abandons her at an intersection
Running from the law
Running into the law
Of blazing guns filled to the rim with chocolate shots
His name was William
Mother Barbara
Come to me hither,
Said the holy Mother of Nature,
Your poor, your tired, your ancestors, your soiled hands
And I’ll let them breathe free.
—Jaylan Salah
