Phinder Dulai : Gaza

 

 

 

 

Carpet …

Rebar twisted up from the broken blocks of cement
against the pock marked road
jagged edge and broken brick
a neighbourhood tumbles
once full with emergent eyes

estuaries dry for a millennia

Silted into the moment
blood for water
Crimson hands pull life from broken slabs

Another explosion
Of the heart
Another pale phosphorus cloud
Sending streaks downwards
Multiplies outwards
Igniting bodies
Its edges of sand and debris aflame
Quietly drifts above the sheltering tents
While the sky smiles with sunshine
Another loved one pulled from a hole
large enough to move a baby through

Dirt lanes replace the roads
These webs of movement carry
The dead eyes of the living
Hills of devastation where homes were
Fragments of glass and metal
Where the shop window of the local grocer
Lie on the ground and are embedded
In bodies that move no more

Amidst these grey hills of refuse and debris
The ones who remain continue their broken walk
Moving south, forced south east, forced to coastal beaches
Forced south east and landing in Rafah

that yawns over the unliving
Who haunt those they have left behind

It starts and continues
Like the rain that rivers
through into pools of clay water
Every day, day in and day out
Moving those who remain
to seek shelter
In battered hospital compounds

And yet
A child’s fingers carry the kites to the top of the concrete hill
Or the sand hill close to the sea
Threads reach upward into the sky
Triangular blues, crimsons, and pinks
Paint the sky a beautiful wave
And the children play in the summer sand
Knowing they have lost everything
And yet… even now they smile
the smile of hope

And if a child were to ask the sky why here?
The sky will tell you
Because you exist.

 

 

 

 

 

Phinder Dulai is the author of three poetry books: dream/arteries (Talon Books) and two previous books of poetry: Ragas from the Periphery (Arsenal Pulp Press, 1995) and Basmati Brown (Nightwood Editions, 2000). Phinder toured dream / arteries extensively in Canada and the USA. He read from dream / arteries at the Asian American Writers Workshop in New York City in 2015. In 2024 he was commissioned by the Surrey Art Gallery to write a series of ekphrastic poems for the Ghost In The Field exhibit by visual artist Jagdeep Raina. His work has appeared in Canadian Literature, Cue Books Anthology, Ankur, Matrix, Memewar Magazine, Rungh, The Capilano Review, Canadian Ethnic Studies, Toronto South Asian Review, subTerrain, and West Coast LINE. He regularly review books for Rungh Magazine and currently serves as the Poetry Editor for Canadian Literature Journal. He lives in Surrey, BC.

Phinder Dulai : In Memory of Roy Miki

 

 

 

Roy Miki’s name is synonymous to the Japanese Redress Movement, The Appropriate Voice Conference in 1992, the Writing Thru Race conference in 1994 and many more events as his life in words and actions inspired and mentored so many not just here on the west coast, but across Turtle Island. Roy was an important teacher for me as he walked his life with grace and certitude. He shared his knowledge and also shared his sense of humour with everyone. I am humbled that Roy took an interest in my writing and ideas, and through his mentorship, he helped me to develop poetry that balanced craft with social justice themes. Over the years while he was teaching at SFU, he was also proactive in his support for emerging writers as he invited young writers like myself to read in his Asian Literature under grad courses a few times at SFU; one memorable experience for me was reading A Letter to the Maru, who’s subject was the story of the arrival of the Komagata Maru in Vancouver in 1914. The letter became part of my third collection of poems titled dream / arteries and the collection was further workshopped with Roy as my faculty teacher at a literary residency at the Banff Centre for the Arts. I am just one person that Roy mentored – there were many, and he made precious time for everyone he touched. Knowing he supported and advocated for so many young authors and emerging scholars demonstrates the special person he was. A who’s who in contemporary BIPOC literature in Canada is a testament to his work and provides a lesson in how one carries themselves in life and advocacy. The value of sharing not just your approach to creative practice but also how to strategically position your social justice themes in an artful way was one of his lessons he imparted. I will miss him deeply but I am heartened in knowing that he lived life and his advocacy for the community he created as part of his practice; this is his legacy.

asiancy (a word) (for r.m.)

 

in form

past

present

reflect before an act

reconcile, reconciliation

repair the broken

blazing a path in the midst of enemies, even your own kind

your feet stationary / parallel perfect

the military precision of a high brick wall looming over you

invisible ink stains, words written over hard red clay

from those who almost spoke to the bricks and mortar

bowed their heads in quiet and turned eastward

their destination, the blurred outline of the unknown

seeking a chip in the concrete 

a moment

where

the crack opens and shifts a little

finding the weak spot, or if not the weak spot

walking the long path around that wall

patience

empathy

seeking

that slight scrape

the sound of the emancipation door

 

[Asiancy is a poem that forms part of the poetry collection dream / arteries published by Talon Books, 2014]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Phinder Dulai is the Surrey-based author of dream/arteries (Talon Books) and two previous books of poetry: Ragas from the Periphery (Arsenal Pulp Press, 1995) and Basmati Brown (Nightwood Editions, 2000). Phinder toured dream / arteries extensively across Canada and USA. His work has appeared in numerous publications. He currently serves as the Poetry Editor for Canadian Literature Journal.

Photograph of Roy Miki provided by Talonbooks.