Gaza - Write my name on my leg, Mama : A Poem by Zayna Azam

Write my name Mama - a poem by Zayna Azam

Write my name on my leg, Mama

Use the black permanent marker

with the ink that doesn’t bleed if it gets wet,

the one that doesn’t melt if it’s exposed to heat

Write my name on my leg, Mama

Make the lines thick and clear

Add your special flourishes

so I can take comfort in seeing

my mama’s handwriting when I go to sleep

Write my name on my leg, Mama

and on the legs of my sisters and brothers

This way we will belong together

This way we will be known as your children

Write my name on my leg, Mama

and please write your name

and Baba’s name on your legs, too

so we will be remembered as a family Write my name on my leg, Mama

Don’t add any numbers like when I was born

or the address of our home

I don’t want the world to list me as a number

I have a name and I am not a number Write my name on my leg, Mama

When the bomb hits our house

When the walls crush our skulls and bones

our legs will tell our story,

how there was nowhere for us to run