I bought 'Letters From Gaza,' edited by Mohammed Al-Zaqqzooq and Mahmoud Alshaer, with an introduction by Atef Abu Saif, the Minister of Culture in the Palestinian Authority.

Basman Eldirawi, a 29-year-old physiotherapist and writer from Gaza, has been recording the experiences of Palestinians in Gaza to shed light on their hardships since the 2023 conflict began.

Eight Fingers is a poem written and translated by Basman Eldirawi.

I count things.

as if I'm counting the hours until sunrise,

then I count the hours of the morning, 

hoping the sounds will end.

I count the sounds of the missiles, 

and how many times I could have died.

I count my loaves, reminding myself 

not to eat my brother's-

don't let him die hungry.

I count the clouds in the sky

before they're covered in dust 

from the missiles sent for death.

I walk on the street

counting what houses and traces remain;

I've walked here once, 

I've laughed here once, 

I've cried here once.

So, I don't forget how the city looks,

I've memorized it before it's hung naked 

from some gallows.

I count the moles on my body,

as if to say goodbye, 

before the enemy cuts off a limb.

I count poems, thinking,

which of them will be killed, 

unfinished, like an unborn child;

some have not even taken a breath, 

like a baby born too soon.

I count my friends, 

before the breaking news;

yesterday they were ten, 

and I counted them on my fingers-

but today I woke up to eight fingers.