Poem of the Week - Daniela Elza

poppies are not                 (Enough

I drink a blood sunset        down Cardinal Avenue.    

my shoes soaked poppies    my mind quiet as

a book         with a bomb         in its mouth.

was it at the bus stop         the fruit leather that hung like

a general's ribbon         from the hands of a homeless child

that reminded me of the red truth dripping down our throats?        

she wishes upon a bone moon.         the same moon

that climbs in my eye.         our gazes meet       up there:

an "almost"        neutral             territory.

her smile         a coca-cola         scar.

-Daniela Elza

Used by permission.      

Published in Al-Mutanabbi Street Starts Here: Poets and Writers Respond to the March 5th, 2007, Bombing of Baghdad’s “Street of the Booksellers.” Editors: Beau Beausoleil and Deema Shehabi (PM Press,Oakland, CA, August 2012)*

Daniela Elza has lived on three continents and crossed numerous geographic, cultural and semantic borders. Her work has appeared in well over 60 publications. In 2011 Daniela launched her first e-Book, The Book of It (now also in print). Daniela’s poetry collection, the weight of dew, was published by Mother Tongue Publishing (2012). Her poetry book Milk Tooth Bane Bone is forthcoming with Leaf Press (April, 2013). Daniela lives and writes in Vancouver, Canada.

*On March 5th, 2007, a car bomb was exploded on al-Mutanabbi Street in Baghdad. More than thirty people were killed and more than one hundred were wounded. This locale is the historic center of Baghdad bookselling, a winding street filled with bookstores and outdoor book stalls. Named after the famed 10th century classical Arab poet al-Mutanabbi, it has been the heart and soul of the Baghdad literary and intellectual community. This anthology begins with a historical introduction to al-Mutanabbi Street and includes the writing of Iraqis as well as a wide swath of international poets and writers who were outraged by this attack.

Please feel free to forward Split This Rock Poem of the Week widely. We just ask you to include all of the information in this email, including this request. Thanks!

If you are interested in reading past poems of the week, feel free to visit the blog archive.    

Split This Rock
www.splitthisrock.org
info@splitthisrock.org
202-787-5210