In the corner of my porch, behind an aloe vera plant
Curled up into a bowl of fur
Lay a little kitten.
He seemed tired this noon
Drawn to the coolness of our home
From the melting rays of the sun.

The heat is back in the desert city
The scorching summer baring its fangs early
Growling at those of us still here
It spared neither me nor the little kitten today.

The sandstorm had just passed
The loud whir, the whoosh, and the bang, all a distant memory
The intense heat of the moment of epic fury
Paralysing us both in the grip of fear
Of its unknown depths.

The calm is strange, the rare loud city noise taking me back
To the nights of the not so distant past
When the terror swept across this desert city
Showing me firsthand a glimpse of what the oppressed endure
In Palestine, Lebanon, Sudan and more.

The future lies in the balance
Between a superpower drunk on destruction
And a people awaiting it.
I bid thee a short farewell, dear city
For I have to leave you in the heat
Of the moment and the summer.