Wednesday, July 30, 2014

The Death Throes of Israel


Under the stare of a merciless master,
under the glare of a merciless midday sun,
the man lies pinned down on the searing hot ground
by a heavy rock on his chest.
It's nothing new;
just another slave being punished

F-16s and gunboats
against
homemade rockets and stones;
a military superpower
massacres the citizens
of the world's largest open-air prison.

It's nothing new;
just another slave being punished
Or is it?
Because look closely and see
that while the "slave" refuses to be broken
uttering, stubbornly: "Ahad, Ahad"..
the "master" has broken
into panicked sweat..

A military superpower
massacres the citizens
of the world's largest open air prison.
Maybe the Gazans
would simply give up,
starve to death,
submit meekly.
Maybe, the Zionists thought,
it would be that easy.

The "master" has broken
into panicked sweat..
as he feels the pressure of the crowd gathered around him.
Some have even started laughing, mockingly
...at him!
For if the slave lives, uttering "Ahad, Ahad";
then the "master" has lost to the "slave".
But if the slave dies, uttering "Ahad, Ahad"
then, also, the "master" has lost to the "slave".

Maybe, the Zionists thought,
it would be that easy.
But living in constant struggle with injustice,
spitting in the face of oppression
has become the Palestinian
way of life.
A life that may end
with a shot to the head,
or a deadly air raid;
but nonetheless,
a life lived free.

For if the slave lives, uttering "Ahad, Ahad";
then the "master" has lost to the "slave".
But if the slave dies, uttering "Ahad, Ahad"
then, also, the "master" has lost to the "slave".
For the master fights for his ego,
while the slave fights for his right
to live free.
And arrogance will not defeat sincerity

A life that may end
with a shot to the head,
or a deadly air raid;
but nonetheless,
a life lived free.
My Gazan brothers and sisters,
they may put you under siege
and destroy your dwellings
but never can they enslave your souls.

And arrogance will not defeat sincerity
As Abu Bakar steps up
to buy Bilal off Umayyah:
‘By Allah,
if you had refused to sell him except for a hundred ounces,
I would have paid it.’
Bilal was emancipated that day,
but his soul had always lived free.

My Gazan brothers and sisters,
they may put you under siege
and destroy your dwellings
but never can they enslave your souls.
Because actually, it is Israel
who is enslaved
by the very cycles of violence
she creates.

As the world wakes up.
From New York to Paris,
London to Hong Kong
...and even Tel Aviv,
people are standing up for you.
For your voice to be heard.

This cycle of violence..
it's different.
Because Gaza, though today we see
the might of a modern army
against a captive refugee population.
We are actually witness
to the death throes of Israel

The might of a modern army
is no match
for the free human soul.
Arrogance will not defeat sincerity.



Eid Mubarak, my Palestinian brothers and sisters
Who knows?
Next Eid, insyaAllah, a free Gaza. Ameen.



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