The exiled cloud
Whither you sail
without sails
without wind
an island cloud
in an ocean
of nations?
now rain
a single drop
plant
a single seed
germinate
be
a lusty weed
die out
then again sprout
a life
worth living
worth loving
reach heaven
but return
yours is a homeland
waiting to be born.
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Khalil Sima’an is a Palestinian-Dutch poet and academic based in Amsterdam. His first chapbook, My Twice-Exiled Throne, appeared in 2025 with Feral Angels Press. His poetry has appeared in various literary journals including Diode, Muzzle, ANMLY, Clarion and Solstice Literary, and in Arabic-language literary magazines Al-Jadeed and Al-Ittihad. Khalil works as professor of computational linguistics at the University of Amsterdam.
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Edward Lee is an artist and writer from Ireland. His paintings and photography have been exhibited widely, while his poetry, short stories, and nonfiction have been published in magazines in Ireland, England, and America, including The Stinging Fly, Skylight 47, Acumen and Smiths Knoll. He is currently working on two photography collections: “Lying Down With The Dead” and “There Is A Beauty In Broken Things.” He also makes musical noise under the names Ayahuasca Collective, Orson Carroll, Lego Figures Fighting, and Pale Blond Boy.
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