Like the cities themselves,
we are bombarded and assaulted
with images
of rubble,
old and new architecture
demolished,
people in the streets
with faraway looks tinged with hunger,
hopelessness,
numbing despair,
violence and destruction.
But if we search for other photos,
we can find
a bride
in Gaza
in a veil and white dress,
a groom
in jeans and hooded jacket,
surrounded by tents and hanging laundry,
friends and family
who clap and dance,
silhouetted against the border fence
topped with barbed wire
and in a Syrian
refugee camp,
a green-eyed girl
remains, somehow
hopeful,
writes on her hand
in English and Arabic
one word
love.
*Poem after the following: Yahoo Travel story on September 5, 2014 from an interview with photographer, Mimo Khair and a photograph taken in Gaza and posted on reuters.com, January 19, 2024.
