
Lentils Soup
Fatima lifts her mattress
takes sock, empties its contents
on her bed: a few coins, two bills.
She grabs a thousand dinars bill
puts everything away
walks out of dilapidated house
into the exterior hell
steps over pieces of cement
part of her neighbour’s wall
turns toward marketplace
wishes to buy lentils
to make soup for her two orphans
merchant smiles seeing money
puts lentils in bag
exactly quarter of a kilo
suddenly the buzzing sound
near them
the horrible explosion
huge crater middle of market
lentils soup postponed.