This week’s poem, by Kerem Durdag, was written just days ago, in response to ICE’s ongoing terrorization of Mainers and so many people around the country. I love this poem’s deep candor, the bright fervor of its questions, and its bravery in speaking truth amidst danger and chaos.
Kerem Durdag is a business executive, poet, translator of works from Turkish and Urdu to English, essayist, librettist, advocate for immigrant voices, award-winning film producer, and participant in conversations across Maine. He lives in Scarborough.
Flag
I saw them
this tentacle
called ICE
Immigration and Customs Enforcement
enforcing customs
there
and
here
down my throat
will they come for me?
will the music play on
when they do?
and how will my wife
find out?
my cells are palpitating
the trauma of
hate
as the lightsaber of
decency
fights in the
edges of the
sparkling chatter
will the music play on
as that happens?
you know
I was an immigrant
the millisecond I was
born
it is true
was there music
as I arrived?
I want to carry
that flag
into the fray
will the music
play for me then?
– Kerem Durdag
Megan Grumbling is a poet and writer who lives in Portland. DEEP WATER: Maine Poems is produced in collaboration with the Maine Writers & Publishers Alliance. “Flag,” ©2026 by Kerem Durdag, appears by permission of the author.