we are not numbers
emerging writers from Palestine tell their stories and advocate for their human rights
A poem for those who try to keep us down: You build your wall around me, but your gates cannot hold me.
You were my Arab family,
but you walked away.
You whispered about me.
You rolled your eyes and smiled
with my enemy, Israel.
I will never forget.
*
You who escaped torture
now torture me in your Zion.
You expel me without mercy.
You want my heart to falter
and my knees to tremble.
I will never forgive.
*
Oh, my people,
Who sacrifice your souls for me,
If I fall, your hands lift me.
If I am hungry, your hands feed me.
If I am afraid, your stones protect me.
I will never disown you.
*
I am a wild horse.
I will not be curbed
nor tamed by strangers.
You build your wall around me,
but your gates cannot hold me.
I am Palestine. I will not change.
