Trigger warning: Mentions of war and suicide.
Context for this poem: When Aleppo fell to Bashar al-Assad’s forces in 2016, many families committed suicide together rather than live under the government regime. The circumstances that force families to make these choices are unfathomable.
Daddy, please kill me
Because I am your daughter, and you love me so
Daddy, please kill me
So the monsters in military uniform will not have me
Daddy, I want to die pure
Not ravaged and ransacked by them and their sins
Daddy, Aleppo is burning
I hear its screams as its children crumble
Daddy, their shots are already firing
Syria is full of their bullet holes, and its streets are slick with blood
Daddy, I don’t know whether you’ll live long enough to protect me
So my dear daddy, I release you of that obligation.
Daddy, dear daddy, please don’t cry
They curse our Jannah, but in it there are no tears
Daddy, dear daddy, please kill me
It won’t be long either way
Before you join me.