out there, we have reached
a general consensus:
we are re-learning
our humanity
receiving simple
directives to fight
a new war, a new menace
after the A-bomb
H-bomb, the oil invasion
our troops are at risk
only this time we’re all dragged
in this horrendous battle
i see men, women
wearing face masks, blue faces
swarming subways, public sets
unaware that we’ve all been
identical this whole time
pushed down by the same
threats, the same hegemony
poets locked inside
banging their heads on the wall
not finding the words
farmers’ heads buried
in their own backyards
america, although i
have never seen your face, you
gave us steinbeck, hemingway
bukowski, faulkner
but in exchange you took our
unity, our belonging
and that extends to
the current flagships
running our rivers
there will come a time
when this whole thing drops
like pellets in a snow globe
we shake in laughter
our unrest skinned bare
and drowned in simple pleasures⸻
makes us whole again.
Hanna Abi Akl writes contemporary poetry and prose. His writing style flows as an endless stream of consciousness, rarely if ever solidifying in rigid form. Some bits of his work have already materialized in novels and poetry books, while others remain hidden in the dark.
Emerge Literary Journal 