If you skated past the large block quote by an unnamed Palestinian woman, please read every word now.

This may not be the first kind of writing that comes to mind when I reference ‘poetics,’ but I would argue that it may be, even if it was not the intention of the speaker. It may not have stanzas or a rhyme scheme, and it may tie into harsh and explicit realities more so than some think is fit for poetry, but it is the anchor in the figurative that reveals its poetic nature.

These poetics are important because they combat a widely accepted assumption that where destruction occurs, people flee. But the pull of home can overcome survival instincts, and it is essential that those of us who only experience wreckage by bulldozer rather than by bomb take a moment to consider this.