Ajam Media Collective and Elsewhere Lit are bringing you #Banned Literature, featuring stories, essays and poems from Trump’s seven banned countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, and Yemen. If you are interested, see our call for submissions and guidelines here.
tala e is a Muslim Syrian artist living in Montreal, Canada. Their works focus on their identities and struggles as a Syrian in exile from a homeland under destruction.
***
throat
to be a syrian in exile is to be in a constant state of blood and revolution on my tongue
to write n walk n breathe n laugh
w the bodies of martyrs family prisoners the ‘missing’
the children our children our children
piled in ur throat i want to hold them in my throat i want to hold you in my hands but u slip between fingers and rubble
untitled (translated by nahrin youkhanna)
i say
i am coming back to you homs
i am coming back and i beg,
please stay for my return.
i wish i could have known to write love letters on ur walls
so u could have something to read in ur destruction
Photo credit here
