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		<title>Basmakyah Borz | WritersCafe.org</title>
		<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/al-amriki</link>
		<description>The original writings of author Basmakyah Borz</description>
		<language>en-us</language>
		<copyright>Copyright 2026 WritersCafe.org</copyright>
		<lastBuildDate>1776060985</lastBuildDate>
		<generator>WritersCafe.org RSS Generator</generator>
		<ttl>15</ttl>
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			<title>The Eyes of His Sultana</title>
			<description>Just before they reach the city,he begins to lower the third layer of black fabricover her eyes, covering them like a childcatching fireflies in his palms.She reaches for his wrists and askssilentlyStop&amp;hellip;- - - - -No -these are a people bent on understanding,on making sense of everything.They w..</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1763715/</link>
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			<title>Pastimes</title>
			<description>I once made crowssingand killerslove.</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1744468/</link>
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			<title>Hobbies</title>
			<description>We each took a boot and draggedthe body out of sight.I frowned at the gigantic red smearbefore turning to follow him down the alley.You&amp;rsquo;re so good at this,I said, taking three stepsfor every stride of his.What can I say&amp;hellip;he replied,Killing for me is likepoetry for you.Not something I thi..</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1742916/</link>
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			<title>Falcon, or the Death Instinct</title>
			<description>She has finally snapped, plummeting fast into a borderline-homicidal rage. Only he has the power to stop her... that is, if he can get there in time.</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1720949/</link>
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			<title>Don't shoot</title>
			<description>Heavy eyelids and a loss of balancetell me I should go to sleep, but every time I do,I always try and I always can't.I see the barrel, the trigger, you.And it's so perfect, it's my dream come true.I look up, smile, and whisperPlease do.</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1714267/</link>
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			<title>Torment</title>
			<description>I am beyond the point of lunacy;Ill doesn&amp;rsquo;t even begin to cover it.Do you know how I spent last night?I wept out of pain from a wound so deepThat, claw as I might at my chest,No medicine could promise healing.I am quiet these days, even as ISit on the floor with my face in my hands,Wishing I c..</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1714261/</link>
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			<title>The exchange</title>
			<description>I spend my nights weeping without tearsAnd my days bargaining with God.&quot;Take me,&quot; I plead Him.&quot;Make me worth their suffering;Ya Allah, ya Allah!Replace the orphans with me,Replace the widows with me,Replace even the sheep with me!&quot;I have told all the people in town andThey now avoid me on the street..</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1709850/</link>
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			<title>Cartridge</title>
			<description>My brother was talking to himselfagain last night while the shellingwas going on.I couldn't sleep and the only thingthat stopped me fromreaching up from my place on the floorand hitting him with my shoe was that Iasked him what he was mutteringabout.I just can't get it out of my mind,he said.- Get w..</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1705496/</link>
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			<title>Don't Try To Love A Fighter</title>
			<description>I see his reflection in your eyesand I know what you&amp;rsquo;re thinking.Don&amp;rsquo;t do it.Don&amp;rsquo;t try to love a fighter.He breaks everything he touches,whether he means to or not.He&amp;rsquo;ll break you, too.Your fighter will dierunning towards the sound of gunfire&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;(you love that..</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1700237/</link>
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			<title>A Joyful Servant Laughing</title>
			<description>My thoughts basically every day.</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1697854/</link>
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			<title>Last words</title>
			<description>In time, they will release the videocontaining my last words.I will smile, but you will not seethe joy and mirth radiating from my faceas I know the hour of my departuredraws ever nearer.Look to the West Bank, to Raqqah,to Fallujah, to Tehran, to Kabul,to any of the cities I left pieces of my heartf..</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1696932/</link>
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			<title>Epilogue</title>
			<description>This is the unhappy epilogue to another poem I wrote called &quot;The Wedding.&quot;</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1691972/</link>
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			<title>Joy</title>
			<description>In modern-day Russia, a rebel fighter gives an honest answer to a difficult question.</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1691970/</link>
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			<title>Pirate's flaw</title>
			<description>I don't mind it, really,even when he comes home late.He's not doing anything wrong.I trust that man with my life.He has a job, but it's hard for him;he doesn't know how to ignoreanyone with something to say.He's been suspended, barred,kicked out, and fired from them all before.His fists always seem ..</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1691175/</link>
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			<title>Screwed-up</title>
			<description>Bullets cr-cr-cr-crack over our sandbagsat 03:00again.We all slept with our gear on,like every night,and I'm the first one awakeon my boots.I'll take care of it,everyone go back to sleep.This is getting old.I haven't seen my familyin monthsand most of me complainsabout this but there's a quieter par..</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1691169/</link>
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			<title>Does that matter to you?</title>
			<description>What is it that you see,staring at the ceiling like you areAnd why do you ignore the sound ofme breathingBecause I am here beside youI am aliveDoes that matter to you?My eyelashes brush your cheek;blinks of sorrow caughtbetween the space of what I wish forand what you feelSoon you will fall asleep(y..</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1670102/</link>
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			<title>wilting flower: the death of a samurai</title>
			<description>He knew this day would come, and so did she.</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1670098/</link>
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			<title>the Pirate and the Faerie Queen</title>
			<description>The odd yet sentimental story of a glitter-winged faerie and an ex-convict pirate.</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1670095/</link>
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			<title>In love with fear</title>
			<description>Set in the present and in the real world, this character lives in a nightmare's paradise. He has an adoring wife but what he does disturbs her sensitive and gentle nature sometimes.</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1668069/</link>
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			<title>Pretty Lights</title>
			<description>All is fair in love, war, and depression.</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1662921/</link>
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			<title>Twijfel</title>
			<description>Sometimes I want to let it go.I want to free myself frommemory's chains, unlock the gate,and fly away forever.But I still have these dayswhen revenge is all I think about.Why did I not hurt youwhen I had the chance?I walk around like Majnunah(let's say that story's roles are re..</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1660031/</link>
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			<title>She: the Nightmare</title>
			<description>She makes people uneasy.She separates souls from bodies;same goes for heads&amp;hellip;She mirrors the sociopathy,the grit,the ruthlessnessthreefold.She is a nightmare -a nightmare, I tell you -no one ever wakes up from.</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1660029/</link>
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			<title>A Bone to Pick (Amirah al-Qitaal)</title>
			<description>Written from a rebel fighter's perspective, this is an introduction to my favourite character, Commander Amirah al-Qitaal.</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1658646/</link>
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			<title>Discontent (The Neighborhood is Quiet)</title>
			<description>Entertaining dignitaries, I play badminton in the courtyard. The neighborhood is quiet.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;He drives on the edge of the village, knuckles white gripping the wheel. There will be twenty men waiting.I drink tea, relaxing on the balcony that overlooks the pool. A soft breeze plays with ..</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1658639/</link>
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			<title>Back to Raqqah</title>
			<description>I was cleaning my rifle a few days later at about 2AM when I slid the bolt handle back and locked it in place. Honestly, I knew before that the whole thing was spotless, I just wanted to find an excuse to hold it in my hands again. I turned it from every angle, inspecting what had become a constant ..</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1658634/</link>
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			<title>Fadi</title>
			<description>When he laughs,I fall in love all over again.When he laughs,I see fangs.So I close my eyes.- - - - -When I read my books at night,sometimes I place my handover his heart and tell myselfthat as long as it beats,there is a good man in himsomewhere, waiting to be saved.There is, I say with false convic..</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1658631/</link>
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			<title>Roti: a Taliban tale</title>
			<description>&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;Two men sit on the ground at the edge of a dirt road.&amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp; &amp;nbsp;The first holds a piece of wire in his light, caramel-colored hand and draws over the ruts and rocks, making paths for absent insects in the sand. He occupies himself with this activity for some time, seemin..</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1658630/</link>
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			<title>Baghdad's Samurai (Tear of the Mountain Flower)</title>
			<description>So it was you.She spoke to the sniper lyingon his stomach on the roof,her voice soft, faerie-lightand almost lilting.It was you who woke mefrom the most beautiful dreamI'd ever had.She slowly stepped out of the shadowsand into the moonlight;the sounds of her footfallswere the sounds of nothing at al..</description>
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			<link>http://slow.writerscafe.org/writing/al-amriki/1658626/</link>
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