Enough Time for a Ritual
Appeared in The Palestine Chronicle, May 23, 2022.
Enough Time for a Ritual
The day will come
when we may mourn our dead
and carry her casket
in a proud procession
wafting like a light cloud
along the bowing palms
and the cooing pigeons.
And no one will stand
in the way of the dead.
No one will whip
the casket nor the dead.
No one will hinder
the nightly rituals
of the dead.
Gently, she will wash
the colours of life
from her face
for the last time,
and sooth her body
with balm
for the last time,
and comb out her hair
for the last time.
And only when fully prepared,
she will wear her nightly coffin
and lay her fractured head
on an earthly cushion.
And in her mind, she will review
the events of her final day
and weep,
review her busy calendar
and weep,
review the faces of her people
and weep, for she has ample time
to weep.
And eventually
when she has consumed
the last drops of life
she will finally
fall asleep,
for the last time.
In honour of the celebrated journalist Shereen Abu-Akleh, who was killed by the Israeli army in May 2022, and the mourners who were attacked by the Israeli police while carrying her coffin.