Day 1,016

Asem’s niece and nephew

Two children
laid in one grave. Brother
and sister, the only children
of their parents. Murdered
by some soldier
because they were there.
Because they were Gazan.
Because they were living
on this earth. Two children laid
together in a small grave
because there were too many
other dead. No room in the ground
for them to be buried
separately. Two children
who came from the same womb,
who played together
all the time, who knew
one another better
than anyone, better sometimes
than their parents. Now
their parents have no children.
Now the children
will never be apart. Now
their bones will mingle
as they disintegrate, as
they become soil and minerals,
as though they came
from a single body.