we are not numbers

emerging writers from Palestine tell their stories and advocate for their human rights

Two poems of innocence denied

I told the white pigeon soaring above / Go hold my one, three, two dreams make them stretch forever
Young woman in gray outfit and hijab standing in front of an olive tree.

I can count

I was a child too innocent too pure
When I looked at the blue sky, width=
I told the white pigeon soaring above
Go hold my one, three, two dreams make them stretch forever
Flying to an endless horizon
With no despair
Two minutes later
In the chaos of silence,
I counted one, three, two, four bullets
In the heart of darkness,
I saw my ivory pigeon stand over the bullets that echoed one, two, three, four, five
Bringing death to my family
When I was a child
I could count
Not dreams
But bullets!

 

Never goodbye!

My childhood dreams were nothing
More than a loaf of bread
In the silence of dawn,
I was standing bare feet
Beside the rough sea, I hold my childhood dreams
I swear; I hold them tightly
Never thinking my dreams
Will come back to slap my face
A hundred times or more
Filling my mouth with salt
Stinging my eyes
In the middle of a stormy night
I said goodbye to the sea
But never goodbye to this mighty world

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