Sad soul
Crying through the night,
bleeding, screaming,
shattered apart,
afraid of what is coming,
shocked by what has been.
They cut her wings —
she cannot fly.
The sad soul is trapped
in Gaza’s broken heart,
and it lies to the north,
while the weak body
wanders somewhere here
south of the valley.
This soul is mine,
this tired body is mine,
drained by an evil world
where sadness and darkness
strangle every breath.
Oh, my lovely soul,
when will you rise again?
Fly beyond this cage,
embrace the waiting angels,
and live in peace
once again.
Artwork By Enas Yousef Esmail Marouf
Enas Yousef Esmail Marouf, born in 2005, is currently studying for a Bachelor’s degree in Arabic Language and Teaching Methods. She is a visual artist and has participated in several local art exhibitions. She is passionate about literature and art, seeing them as a means of freedom, expression, resistance, and patience.
Menna Saber Abo Salem
Menna Saber Abo Salem is a 20-year-old fourth-year English Language Teaching Methods student at Al-Aqsa University. She writes in Arabic and English, translates between languages, and shares her short texts on Instagram. Menna is also a voice-over artist; her latest work, “I Roam the Streets and Collect Street Sayings,” is on SoundCloud. Three of her texts will be serialized in Brief Encounters Journal, and her poem “Flight to Paradise: Between Darkness and Light” will be published on OPOL. Find her work on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mennasaber.as?igsh=ZzhkNmM5enl1djU=
