we are not numbers

emerging writers from Palestine tell their stories and advocate for their human rights

Sizzling sweat

How do Gazans cope when the temperature soars and there is no electricity?
Basman Derawi
  • Gaza Strip
  • Diaspora

 

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Forcing my eyes open
and my body up
is always a chore.
My trick is to joke,
laughing at myself
and the beckoning sky.

But when the sun glares
and the rays are sticky,
I can't find the humor
in the sweat that
pours down my brow,
sizzling at such an early hour.

Eight hours later,
I return home,
breathing fire
with a tomato-red face, 
heavy with sweat 
like a walking river.

I run to the fan,
my summer girlfriend
Yet: no power.
I sit under
the running tap,
singing a love song
to the winter.

Woman in sunglasses in front of fountain.
Mentor: Pam Bailey

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