Ash

Dark nights. Cold talks.

Here, in my tiny space,

where doors were taken away

and windows lay shattered.

A lone woman stood above the ruins,

staring at how everything burned.

She ran to fight the fire

with ink and bleeding words,

but she realized it too late.

The wind was storming,

the air vying with itself.

She held her papers and her blood,

a horrible numbness

in her heartbeat.

She whispered:

It’s alright.

It’s just a nightmare.

No one will know—

under her nickname, Ash.

She went down the stairs of the void,

reaching for doors and windows—

for dreams, safety, and will—

but none of them were alive.

The echo of genocide 

struck everything.

Little birds on the shade tree

were trampled.

The sill was bashed.

Tiny memories were crushed.

No home stayed there,

waiting for her.

The windows danced

to the music of death.

And still,

that lone woman

stands by the window,

hoping to touch the sky one day,

holding what remains of hope—

that a day will come,

born

from the heart of hell.

Shahed Mohammed El – Farra
January 2026

رماد

ليالي حالكة. محادثات باردة.

،هنا، في مكاني الضيق
حيث سُلبت الأبواب
.وتكسّرت النوافذ

وقفت امرأة وحيدة فوق الأنقاض،
تراقب كل شيء يشتعل أمامها.

ركضت لتواجه النار
بحبرها وكلماتها النازفة،
لكنها أدركت الحقيقة متأخرة جدًا.

الريح كانت عاصفة،
والهواء يتصارع مع ذاته.
أمسكت بأوراقها ودمها،
وإحساس مروع بالخدر
يدق في قلبها.

همست:
لا بأس.
إنه مجرد كابوس.
لا أحد سيعرف—
تحت اسمها المستعار، رماد.

نزلت سلالم الفراغ،
تبحث عن أبواب ونوافذ—
عن أحلام، عن أمان، عن إرادة—
لكن لم يكن أي منها حيًّا.

صدى الإبادة
ضرب كل شيء.
العصافير الصغيرة على شجرة الظل
دُست تحت الأقدام.
تكسّرت الأعتاب.
وُهُدمت الذكريات الصغيرة.

لم يبقَ بيت هناك،
ينتظرها.

كانت النوافذ ترقص
على أنغام الموت.

ومع ذلك،
تقف تلك المرأة الوحيدة
بقرب النافذة،
تأمل أن تلمس السماء يومًا،
تتمسك بما تبقى من أمل—
بأن يأتي يوم،
مولود

شهد محمد الفرا
يناير 2026

Translated by Taqwa Ahmed Al-Wawi

Shahed Mohammed Al-Farra, 21, from Gaza, is a third-year English Language and Literature student at Al-Aqsa University. She writes poetry and lyrical stories inspired by her daily life and the emotions stirred by her experiences. Writing has always been her native language, and for those who grow up amidst war, the flow of words often mirrors the flow of pain. She has written numerous poems, including When the Dawn Embraces Gaza and Shall I Know You!? However, her favorite poem is Ash, as it most powerfully captures a night she lived through and compelled her to express it through words that bleed emotion.

Featured Image: “What was survival… turned mortal.” Photo by: Shahed Mohammed El – Farra.

Translated by Taqwa Ahmed Al-Wawi