Yes, I am not a common person.
I have been uniquely burdened
with aches, pains and torture.
I was born here to fight
In tears, for a sniff of life.
No wonder
my name means redemption, sacrifice.
Here is Gaza. Palestine.
Born in pain,
I live;
I love;
I laugh;
In pain
And with pain.
No wonder
I have a rich vein
Of tension
Of strain.
Always I say
The best is yet on its way.
Unaccustomed, I fake a smile.
A sign of defiance, or is it only a lifestyle?
Accustomed, for I am in a fight
For survival. For my right.
No wonder,
I am all smiles.
Yes, I don’t complain.
But I am not alright.
Screams, cries and tears
I always try to hide
Deep inside.
No wonder
I am made to fight.
And my home is
Palestine.
(Crossposted at Fidaa Abuassi’s blog Gaza in Words)
Fidaa, thank you for sharing your poem. What “fight” mean to you? Is it the inner Jihad to remove all your impurities and perfect yourself before Allah?
It is such hard work. And I am failing miserably. :-(
“Unaccustomed, I fake a smile.” I think we should say what we think and do what we say. And not fake smiles. The choice of being happy, peaceful and loving belongs entirely to us. We should choose to be happy all the time (despite however much others abuse and mistreat us.) From your words you have a big heart. You are no doubt doing better at this than I am. :-(
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Unrelated, can I ask how many Gazans still commute to work inside Israel? This use to be very common the 1980s and 1990s, although much less so now. How bad is it?
Israel should immediately issue more work, tourist, business, student and daily commute visas to Palestinians. No one would benefit more from this than Israel. Imagine all those smart Palestinians creating new products and leading business inside Israel to greatness.
Why doesn’t Israel do this?
In reference to “anan” et al, am I the only one here who thinks too many trolls are being allowed to post on this forum these days? I’m tired of having to weed through all this drivel to read the real comments here.
@Annie Robbins, thanks, but doesn’t Phil or another moderator read the comments on here?
fidaa, thank you once again for gracing MW with another of your always excellent (and often surprising) contributions. this time..a fighting poem! one of these days we will get your archives sorted out so all of your writing here is organized.
For the sake of honest folk anan and kind ought be allowed to post ….. just enough for it to be shown how low they will stoop, how far away they are from the basic tenets of Judaism, how empty their arguments are and what ghastly people are attracted to support the Zionist colonization project.
They’re a microcosm of Israeli leadership, Israeli’s occupation tactics and the psychology behind striving for a Greater Israel