Flashback Memories

• Malak Edres, Grade 9
• Poetry
• 2017

Sudden and unpredictable.They attack. Out of the blue, your mind and thoughts are cut off.Numbness takes over from the tips of your fingers. Consumed by repulsive memories refusing to be forgotten. Forcing you to remember the past.There you are, holding your newborn daughter.You are her human shield, both hiding under the staircase.Deafening bangs, explosions and air strikes. Witnessing persecution, slaughter and death.Unspeakable things and actions are a norm.You fall to the ground. They spare you and leave.You raise your head and look up, tears flowing uncontrollably.“Thank you, God,” you whisper, as gratitude and serenity fill your heart.