OutWrite 2019: ‘Nakba Day Dance’ by Rasha Abdulhadi
sing to me now, sisters of my sitti-
women i will never meet even in pictures or stories
my aunts and girl-cousins who would teach me the dances before weddings
at the party of the brides, women dancing together, cheering on women,
the memory sweet and fresh like a date in the desert of my mind.
here i am parched.
a refugee’s talent is to make friends wherever she goes.
a refugee’s fate is to keep wandering always, always making new friends,
always finding herself in someone else’s home.
i apologize, i try to watch closely for the rules,
each house a new regime, each cohort of friends a new camp to survive.
An excerpt from Nabka Day Dance, first published in issue three of |tap| magazine. For more information on Rasha Abdulhadi, visit www.splitthisrock.org.
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