Bird Feeding

“Look,” Baba says,
“They’re praying for us.”

On top of the mint blue slide,
I watch a few swerve
in between trees, white
bread scraps in their beaks.
They beckon the rest
to come eat
— red, blue, white, black, brown
wings steady on the lawn.

I slide down
to move closer
and listen to the birds pray,
but they hear
me dawdle their way
and take off pleading
to the sky.

By Zahraa Farhat

Biography:

Zahraa Farhat is a Lebanese American writer and former journalist for The Arab American News. She has a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Michigan – Dearborn and master’s degree in creative writing from Wayne State University. As a daughter of immigrants and a Muslim in America, her writing is preoccupied with themes of family, war, country, and identity.