Ramsey Nasr-Poem on Gaza

 POEM ON GAZA
ye who enter here
and this was once my house, do come in
make sure to wear stout boots for the blueprints
would you like some coffee never mind the grit let’s start
he solemnly hands you half of a cup
as if it were for real, and says go ahead
while he scales the mount himself, keeping his pinkie lifted
cardamom, he thinks as he sniffs at the shard
and takes in the view, coolly peering down
stands quietly sipping the rubble
thus a connoisseur greets the custom-made day
the pinkie curls up as a water sprinkler
the hand is a bowl for the desolation
two floors hath the house of the man who is drinking
and between them there is a wondrous staircase
upon which you can walk to above from below
in the wall he has had open windows installed, he says
that even as a child he thought those were the best
as he roamed the streets as a night-blueprint
he lives there now with his pregnant bride
their door led straight into the living room
with nothing to hide but a window
in this town every house is the house of your dreams
every crater has become the best of all craters
in Gaza, walking shoes are best worn at night
-----Ramsey Nasr
(translation Guido Courtois)