In Mutanabbi Street
Hajji Muhammed sits
Outside what had been
His shop. His five sons
Were killed and the books
That filled his shelves
Lie senseless on the floor.
There are no walls. No door.

This poem is about a bookshop in Baghdad destroyed in the Iraq War. Mutanabbi Street, named after a great Iraqi poet, has long been famed for its bookshops.

John Drew is an occasional contributor to The Daily Star. A collection of his articles is due to be published later this year by ULAB Press.