The census officer will come.
He'll inspect
the streets and houses. And
with a ballpoint pen,
he'll record our losses. Then
depart
without seeing my heart.
...
The census officer will come.
He'll inspect
the streets and houses. Then
leave me to count my ruins
with fingerless hands.
Haidar al-Ghazali is a 20 year old poet from Gaza.
This poem was translated from Arabic to English by Zainab Al-Qaisi.
al-Ghazali's poem marks the first installment of the Gaza Pages, an ongoing editorial project at the Avery Review. Special thanks to Omar Hamilton for his guidance.