Poems for Company - July 28th, 2025

“Exile and Return”: What is it like to try to enter and exit Middle Eastern countries, especially Palestine? Today’s poems offer glimpses, even before the most recent spasm of violence that ripped it apart in October 2023. Lena Khalaf Tuffaha, “Upon Arrival” and “Immigrant,” from Water and Salt (Red Hen Press, 2017). Mosab Abu Toha, “Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear” and “Forever Homeless,” from Things You May Find Hidden in My Ear (City Lights Books, 2022). The show’s theme music is Philip Aaberg’s “Going-to-the-Sun,” from his CD Live from Montana (sweetgrassmusic.com) and used with the kind permission of Philip Aaberg. If you have any...