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Tawfiq
Zayyad - Palestine
Here We Will Stay
In Lidda, in Ramla, in the Galilee,
we shall remain
like a wall upon your chest,
and in your throat
like a shrad of glass,
a cactus thron,
and in your eyes
a sandstorm.
We shall remain
a wall upon your chest,
clean dishes in your restaurants,
serve drinks in your bars,
sweep the floors of your kitchens
to snatch a bite for our children
from your blue fangs.
Here we shall stay,
sing our songs,
take to the angry streets,
fill prisons with dignity.
In Lidda, in Ramla, in the galilee,
we shall remain,
guard the shade of the fig
and olive trees,
ferment rebellion in our children
as yeast in the dough.
All I Have
I never carried a rifle
On my shoulder
Or pulled a trigger.
All I have
Is a flute's melody
A brush to paint my dreams,
A bottle of ink.
All I have
Is unshakeable faith
And an infinite love
For my people in pain.
Pagan Fires
At our ease
we take the thread of light
from the knots of darkness,
tend the nursery of dreams,
cool the burning sand
with shadows of palm trees, and
for the bastards prepare a platter
like the moon. If one day we stumble
our roots will stand us straight
At our ease
we learn the industry
of ants!
We do not flicker briefly
like matches; we burn
perpetually
like pagan fires
Our breath is as large
as the horizon.
And at our ease
we lead the capricious horse
of History.
Passing Remark
When they ran
over her,
the mulberry tree said:
"Do what you wish,
but remember
my right to bear fruit
will never die."
They Know
But they know that
my country
has known a thousand conquerors
and they know
that the thousand
have all melted away
like driven snow.
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