In Nights Of War Poem by Faleeha Hassan

In Nights of War
My mother forced us to go to sleep before sunset
She told us
The warning siren will take the sleep from your eyes
Just as the raid will take the houses from their streets
We run toward everything
We eat from fear of running out of food
We drink water without thirst
And like chicks
We crawl into her abaya
And sleep without sleeping
At dawn
We run toward the windows
And open our eyes wide
When we start counting all the destroyed houses around us
And thank God
For the blessing of sleep!