Iraq Haiku Series IV: Refugee

i am in jordan
but i am not jordanian
rights are limited

there are but six left
my husband is dead
so are his and my parents

my children buy bread
they beg on the road
i'm afraid to leave this room

it is i and five
and each one hungry
today i will try harder

i will wait in line
with ten thousand iraqis
and ask them nicely

other young widows
line the marketplace
we hope for coins, in'sh allah

i want to go home
to my relatives
still scattered like desert palms

i am alive but
i just want to die
to lie beside my husband

it is night in Amman
a cool noiseless breeze
blows through cut-out windows

maybe there is hope
perhaps a letter
comes from loved ones in basra

i will wait and watch
soon we will return
i have promised my children


go to Iraq Haiku Series V: Child Martyr here