Day 557

We rebuild what they destroy
again and again
They bomb our homes to rubble:
We retrieve whatever we can use
and use it.
The man and his family
have left their home in Shujaiya, told
to evacuate; they evacuate,
return the following day.  Where
their home had been
is a mound of stones, pieces
of plastic, broken pipes.  The man
picks up a plank of wood:  holds it,
studies it.  Maybe this
could be a new wall, he tells
himself.  In a matter of hours
he builds a room
open to light and air, lays blankets
on the floor of it, tells his family
Here we will sleep
tonight.  Here
we will live and remain.
All of our days.