Sailing Past Sinai

We remember,
boys left behind
and buried.

We will not speak
of war, but we will sing
of the dead, how they dance
in our ribs.

We will unbury
their memory, replace
them with all the arms
still lying around.

I don’t want
to see a single
Kalashnikov
in sight.

Rather, I want to see
boys, dancing,
given lipstick and
kohl, told to paint
the town any shade
that fits.

As we stand on this sacred sand,
I want to say
a prayer
for our buried boys.

بارك كل خطوة اتعدي عاالطريق الصعب

Let us untangle
their bodies from bloodied flags,
lower them back to the loving  ground,
let them sleep, if only for once.

Hazem Fahmy is a Pushcart and Best of the Net nominated poet and critic from Cairo. He is currently pursuing his MA in Middle Eastern Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. His debut chapbook, "Red//Jild//Prayer" won the 2017 Diode Editions Contest. A Watering Hole Fellow, his poetry has appeared, or is forthcoming in Apogee, HEArt, Mizna, and The Offing. His performances have been featured on Button Poetry and Write About Now. He is a reader for the Shade Journal, a poetry editor for Voicemail Poems, and a contributing writer to Film Inquiry.