Poetry and protest from Baghdad

About a month ago, I ran into one of my poetry students at a writing event. Anba is a former scientist from Iraq, and she is usually beaming with energy. On this night she was down, dark circles under her eyes, her posture drained. When I asked her how she was she told me she had not slept for a week.

“I keep looking at the posts from the protests in Baghdad and it’s breaking my heart.”