My Crime

Appeared in Fikra Magazine, 21 March 2024

My crime 

By Khalil Sima'an

I am a thistle


in the throat of a cannon


a blood clot


in the veins of invaders,

a scribble on the margins


of a decrepit promise

an afterthought

on discarded maps. 

I echo and resonate

a resounding love song

filled with hope

in the hollow halls

of factories

of mass murder

weapons.