Επιμέλεια: Εύα Πετροπούλου Λιανού
A heavy shadow looms over the country,
Covering it with sadness and darkness.
A darkness that never fades
Because it loves destruction.
It is war that eats you, human.
There is a child holding a broken toy.
He was playing with it yesterday.
Now he stares into space.
Innocently, he wonders, “Oh my God…
Yesterday the sun was shining,
The horizon was blue.
Why did the sky turn black?”
A mother cradles the body of her infant.
Counts the names of the departed.
Hides her tears in her chest,
Which is about to burst with grief.
Recites the prayer,
As if it were the last remnants of life.
All these tragedies were left behind by war.
The war that eats our souls,
Disfigures our faces,
Leaving behind nothing but a sad song.
Peace is not a dream by Hanaan Abdelkader Ashour
Peace was not a migratory bird,
Nor was it a distant dream.
Peace walks with our small steps
When we visit the sick
And show compassion to those in need.
In a hand we extend peace to others,
In a sincere word that comforts a sad person’s heart,
In a beautiful smile that inspires hope in others.
It is like a river that begins with a drop,
Then it flows to cleanse the face of the earth,
Leaving it more radiant and loving.
Peace is a song that flows through the soul,
Making the soul dance and fly,
Singing with the birds.
So why don’t we open our hearts
To the breezes of peace
And begin its path with a serious step now?
Brief Creative Bio
Hanaan Abdelkader Ashour is an Egyptian poet, short story writer, and novelist.
She is also the editor-in-chief of the Poets’ Pub website.
She has nine published books, and her poems have been translated into English, Spanish, Bulgarian, and Bengali.
