A woman puts an orange in her husband’s pocket
and her longing I saw

they’re opening unmarked graves with warrants
and silence’s strength I saw

truth bound, the papers lie
and hate in the words I saw

grace in the bazaar, conscience in exile
and the feigned surprise I saw

driven again to my pencil’s mercy
and the invitation to end I saw

from poison mouths the children kissing the vine
and their glass bravery I saw

Patrick Sykes is a journalist and writer based in Istanbul, Turkey.