"Once again, Ahmad Alkhatat uses his excellent writing talents to create sorrowful but beautiful images, this time as he visits the place of his birth, Baghdad, Iraq. The book begins with poems that describe his feelings about the visit and what he sees. “The Cost of Cigarettes,” “In A Random Street in Baghdad,” “Wounds From Iraq,” “At the Airport” and “Baghdad Taxi.” all denote images of the flavor and culture of Baghdad itself. Ahmad also shows his heart and sympathy for what is happening or has happened within Iraq and Syria with such poems as “Flooding in Aleppo,” “The Crying Girl on the Border” and “My Colorful Sorrows In Iraq.” We expect poets to show emotion within their work, but not all do it with such heartbreaking ‘hit on the mark.’ Mr. Alkhatat always has a wish for peace that can be seen in the form of a prayer in his books. This book contains at least two prayers for peace and comfort for Iraq and neighboring countries, “Send My Salutations” and “Will the Gate of Mesopotamia open for us?” (Will someone wake us up and give the key so that our dreams can come true.) “If Santa Clause Was In…” is stunning and worthy of much thought. (If Santa Clause was in Syria, he would never forgive himself, Knowing that all the children waiting in tombs in the dying gardens.) The book ends with “My Childhood” as he reminds those of us in safer places that there is horror and loss going on in other places in the world. While I enjoyed the entire book and gave each poem several reads, there are two that I could return to read every single day for the foreseeable future. The first is the beautifully penned, “The Beautiful Dream of Baghdad.” The other worthy of many reads is “Grief and Palm Trees in Iraq.” -Linda Imbler-
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