“Somewhere there are tears and bombs
rupturing the beauty of sacred land
Somewhere there are boats
filled with people carrying nothing
except the gift of breath
Somewhere there are fathers using every inch of their bodies
to pull their children across borders,
for the comfort of safety
Somewhere the sun has left its place
And there is only my Grandmother
For when the sky is full of darkness and the world is asleep
She sits alone and prays”

from Heirloom
– Rashida James-Saadiya
in A KALEIDOSCOPE OF STORIES
Muslim Voices in Contemporary Poetry
Coming soon from Lote Tree Press

Image: from the series Reflection by Pharoah Egbuna