I find heritage defined by rivers
I find home nestled between two of them
Tigris and Euphrates, a fine casket
For my parents, who took its waters down
The gulf and up the red sea, to find them
Cradled by the Nile, digging me out of
Sand. I find my childhood in a city
Born of three, born out of antiquity,
Born of an Arab spring that had begun
flowing long after I had fled to Great
Lakes. I don’t recall the town I lived in
Or know if it’s still standing. If it was
Left under sand, the only sign left the
Coca-Cola ad that covered my room