2024 Barrett Winner
4th Place Omar Abueida
In the lens of memories.
In Diaspora Palestine,
A photograph reveals-
An uncle with figs
and grapes in his gentle hands.
Amidst an orchard 53 years old.
Blooming with love-
Watered by tears,
of family labor,
in orchard cultivation-
under the sun's warm glow.
It was a haven, a cherished land.
But beyond the lens,
In life’s twisted fate.
By the force of a bomb.
In a land oppressed by those
who believe it’s their right,
The orchard is blown,
Leaving behind nothing, but sorrow and despair.
Scattering memories into the wind.
Gone are the figs, the olives, the aged trees.
Gone is a home reduced to rubble and dust-
leaving echoes of the past.
And, as people witness a history brought to its knees,
Gone are the voices too.
The orchard may be gone, but it’s roots still run through.
So, let the photograph speak, let it portray,
The family's daily endurance in the face of oppression
& pain.
For in this picture-
The Orchard lives on, in the beautiful tales,
Yet to come.