Bes
Haram does not translate into English
my teta taught me this when I was young
when I don’t finish my food
my teta says haram
when I tell her I haven’t been sleeping
my teta says haram
when the churches in Minya are burned and demolished
my teta says haram
when The churches in Bani Mazar,
in Nazlah,
in Suez,
in Favoum,
in ascanderaya
boil with flames
my teta says haram
when I tell her my pitbull misses her more than I do
my teta says haram
when the militants kill Sufis’s in the Sinai by the hundreds
when the brotherhood burns 80 churches in a month
when the military jails journalist without trial
my teta says haram
when I tell her I want to go to Egypt
she empties her throat
when I tell her I want to see where I’m from
how I wan to go to Zebaleen
see the church on the dump
carved into a limestone mountain
she doesn’t speak
just curls her cheeks and breathes
this does not translate into English
My teta taught me this when I was young
