Every night when you go to bed
a lonely old man is sitting in the corner counting the stars.
A widow is living her life as if it is on hold.
A homeless child is playing with poverty and hunger.
A refugee is publishing his “dirty” story on his grave.
An oppressed woman is catching the sky by her prayers.
A mom is calling death to meet her vanished son or daughter.
An orphan is looking for a who to dry his pain.
A prisoner is drawing freedom and peace on the blind walls.
A and a and a, till the bleeding ahhhh…
In the darkness, stories are made from salt water,
passing through the masked wrinkles,
and establishing the deepest lake in a soul.
Every night, when you go to bed, don`t forget to sleep.
Rasha Mansour is a 36 year-old poet from Jatt Village, Israel. She received an MA in Creative Writing at Bar Ilan University. Rasha is active in the Israeli poetry scene and received the Shaindy Rudoff award for her “phenomenal, thought-provoking poetry.” She is married with one son and currently lives in Tira, Israel.