* — December 26, 2019
Osama Alomar — A Caravan of Donkeys
Laden Donkeys and Ploughing, Tomb of Djar, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

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ACARAVAN OF DONKEYS moved along the side of a country road, carrying goods to sell in a nearby village. Their master followed in the rear. After a little while, the donkey walking at the front of the caravan turned to his colleagues who seemed exhausted and worn out. He brayed at them in his loudest voice, saying: “let’s go! Hurry up you lazy bastards!”

Then he looked back at his master in disdain, and continued haughtily on his way.


Originally published in No Tokens Issue No. 7. View full issue & more.
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Born in Damascus, Syria in 1968 and now living in Pittsburgh, Osama Alomar is the author of three collections of short stories and a volume of poetry in Arabic, and performs as a musician. His short stories have been published by Ploughshares, TriQuarterly, Words Without Borders, The Southern Review, NewYorker.com, The Paris Review Daily, Conjunctions.com, Vice.com, Guernica Daily, The Outlet (the blog of Electric Literature), Noon, The Coffin Factory, Painted Bride Quarterly, Gigantic, The Literary Review, and Dissent. New Directions published FULLBLOOD ARABIAN, a pamphlet-sized collection in 2014, and the story collection THE TEETH OF THE COMB in 2017.