In Arabic, the Word for “War” Is Similar to “Love”

On his way to a first kiss, a soldier

enters a flower shop. He fingers dozens

of roses and determines the longevity of each

by the number of its petals.

When children protested the regime

then died in its prisons, officers

sent their fathers notes that read:

Come pick up the corpse in exchange for the mother,

On the table, a bouquet of 24—one for every

month in service. His nails tug

until the red tissue, lining a sacred opening, unravels,

a torn uterus where once a butterfly

didn’t ask permission.