My Ash-Sham

Damascus, the city of Jasmine, my ash-Sham
now in throbbing pain, with intra-ocular pressure,
higher than normal, the omen is permanent vision loss
of a brighter future, our people are blind

Damascus, my Madīnat al-Yāsmīn
traumatized, yet squinting at a sliver of light
peeking through the door, a wished-for chimera
if wishes were horses, the future would be ours to create

Damascus, my homeland, the Barada river
a throbbing jugular, still alive
a knive in the heart, hot burning pain
peace floating driftwood on gory water

Sofia Kioroglou is a Greek poet, writer and perennial traveller to the Holy Land and Egypt. Her recent entry to the Festival for Poetry was singled out at the Best of February and her poems have been selected in the 26 Most Commented Writers Category of Pengician. Her poems can be found online and in print in Lunaris Review, In Between Hangovers, Galleon Literary Journal, Pengician, Galway Review, Verse-Virtual, Dumas de Demain, Books’ Journal, Poetic Diversity, Every Writer, Winamop and Aenaon to name but a few. She has work forthcoming this March in Basil o’ Flaherty. She was one of the winners in the International Competition of Epok.gr this January and her work won a distinction in the Poetry Contest of Unesco Club for the return of the Elgin Marbles to Greece. Her work is mentioned in the Winningwriters Magazine this February.