I shoulder the oven
over broken streets
that seep saltwater
& sewage
past the souk
to the Youth Center
where we enter into
the Biblical task
of turning
some scant ingredients
into a meal
large enough to nourish
a turning
a point
in time when
Peoples
make
then break
bread together
then Dabkeh*
to a new song
for the first time
---
"Tayyib, Yallah!"
she thunders
& i punch
& pound my palms
deep into the bowl that
holds our future
meal
Lahma bin ajeen
Lamb-stuffed pastry
she'll roast in that makeshift oven
under an undying flame
then hand them out
still sizzling
each to each
guests first.
*Dabkeh is a traditional Palestinian dance form, where everyone holds hands or links arms in a circular formation, then perform they synchronized steps. The youth of today have transformed to fit modern music.
Comments