Lentils Soup
Fatima lifts her mattress
takes sock, empties its contents
on her bed: a few coins, two bills.
She grabs a thousand dinars bill
puts everything away
walks out of the dilapidated house
and into the outside hell
steps over pieces of cement
fallen from her neighbour’s wall
turns toward the marketplace
today she wishes to buy lentils
and make a soup for her two orphans
merchant smiles seeing her money
puts lentils in a bag
exactly half a kilo
when suddenly the buzzing sound
is heard near them.
A horrible explosion.
Huge crater middle of market
lentils soup postponed.
Libros Libertad 