Mom

On Ma’s face
There is a book
And life’s preface.
Between these lines
and in these two caves
Life dwells. 
That line is hope.
That one is love. 
That death 
When she smiles, 
She gives hope, 
She gives love 
She gives life,
To life. 

July 30, 2012

 

From If I Must Die: Poetry and Prose by Refaat Alareer (OR Books, 2024), compiled by Yousef M. Aljamal. Copyright © 2024 by Refaat Alareer. Reprinted by permission of the Refaat Alareer estate.