golden shovel after karl marx, walter benjamin, richard siken, & zaina alsous
“the tradition of all dead generations weighs like a nightmare on the brains of the living” - karl marx
in american cemeteries the dead overlap, the
hillside ostentatious in the catholic tradition.
my father almost fainted at the fetid smell of
incense. my husband tried to step around all
the bodies like a good muslim but the dead
made no room; he conceded. in generations
that never come we see how our living weighs
into them like needles determined to felt. like
all good empires we learn to slurp the dead with a
spoon. history comes to me begging in a nightmare
but i’ve never had enough hands to hold on.
i am still and without motive. when the
dawn opens it is soft and pink as brains.
rusts our threatening edges. i want to be capable of
things that cannot be forgiven. history is unforgiving. the
gravedigger slots history into orderly rows & the living go on living.
Added: Thursday, February 27, 2025 / Used with permission.
Photo by Hamza Abou Ammo.
Samia Saliba is calling on you to join the struggle for the liberation of Palestine and all oppressed peoples globally, from wherever you are, in whatever material way you can. To learn from Palestinian resistance the everyday practice of refusal. She is writing from somewhere in Los Angeles, where she is a PhD student in American Studies & Ethnicity. Her poems appear in Apogee, AAWW, Mizna, and elsewhere. Her debut chapbook conspiracy theories will be published by Game Over Books in June 2025. Find her on twitter @sa_miathrmoplis or in real life petting a cat.
Image Description: Samia Saliba sits at a table in front of a turquoise wall resting her chin on her fist and gazing to the left. She is wearing tortoiseshell glasses and a lavender tank top, and has a tattoo of an orchid on her arm.
