Music is what sustains me through the challenges and monotony of life in Gaza. It literally "chills" me in times of stress and speaks to me when I question my ability to go on. This poem is dedicated to all of those musicians and song writers I have found on the internet.
In the delivery room,
I came to life in
a normal way.
A doctor checked me:
I was breathing,
my skin unblemished,
my limbs intact.
Like Lady Gaga singing,
I was on the right track.1
Now, at the crossing gate,
I wait,
carrying my blue passport
and my bag.
My 100 percent Palestinian blood
rushes through my veins
like Britney’s toxic poison paradise.2
As I walk the streets,
I hear explosions all around.
I run, screaming.
Then another assault
and I am indoors,
flat on the floor.
Exhausted, barely breathing.
Trying to hold on to what I believe in.
In my head, I hear Kanye taunting,
“I’m the only thing I’m afraid of.”3
I am all of these feelings, at once:
Crying and singing and laughing,
fearful and resisting.
I am amazing, Kanye.
But I’m not toxic, Britney Spears.
As Lady Gaga says,
“I was born this way!”
For those who have not found these talented singers yet:
1 I'm on the right track, baby. I was born this way — Lady Gaga.
2 You're toxic; I'm slippin' under with a taste of a poison paradise.–Britney Spears
3 I'm exhausted, barely breathing, holding on to what I believe in.
I'm the only thing I'm afraid of. — Kanye West
