Rain from F-16 the merciless rocketsU.S. made on Gaza and Deir Al-BalahDates are ripe-day six, on tripsHow many I make to palm treeBring a’saf en-nakhel in green to coverThe dead and how many woundsMust a palm endureAs daflas flowering – not any moreTheir blooms all cutTo honor the dead?

A hundred twenty-four killedAmong them five month old NazirThe only son whose motherWaits his arrival five long yearsTwo-day infant girl AbeerWho hardly got her lesson to breatheAnd Abu ‘Aahid ‘AttallaHis wife, two sons, two daughtersAll have perished in the rubbleTheir home is leveled

As the wounded bleedingLeft to dieNo ambulance is allowedAnd too no travelCurfew shuts in allAnd anything moves is shotOn sight a total siegeNo water  power  medicineFunerals not allowedToo, the holding night of azzaOn continues death of daughterSon  father  mother  neighbor  friendNo time to take a breath

As Naval gunner Cole at seaIs aiming nearMission is crush democracyChosen by my relativesSabra is watching Handhala’s handsAre tied with no one movingCairo’s street is deadAnd government tooStuck in muteThe U.N. Council and the leadersMasturbating in Ramadan

Fierce my leader blares: “Stop the stupidQassam rockets, they excuseAnother massacre”What excuses were thereTo expelA million from their homes in ’48Demolish villages – ethnic cleansingEncore ’67What excuses for the wallThirty foot highTo cutA million trees and shutThe roadTo walking kindergarten class?

As dig my well to collectThe rain from God is now illegalFarmer waving white sheetOnto which to harvestOlive tree – his livelihoodAnd the family’s for generationsToo illegalWhat excuses?

In his speech my leader claimsI harbor Qaeda fightersStamping license to declare on Canaan”Bigger Holocaust” by its victimsSixty years pastMy leader! On whose side you standThe frantic scream is deafening on TVBy grown men losingLoved ones on the mount of KashefOutside Gaza?

Your excuse revolting not to moveBut leadAnd blame the victimWhat excuse is left except my breathing?Unacceptable for them tooI am fighting still if breathingPushed to suicide slowlyBetter inside the suicide belt?

Revolting your excuse and leadingLeave your villaPack your BMW, go in Tel AfritTo follow your shamOr live on Riviera’s love fest nudeIn “negotiate” with loversFrom the enemy’s side

Intoxicate to max!I die here taking onThe Vikings’ incarnation and bulldozersWith my handsAlone and Jafra’s clingTo holy et-teen waz-zaytounOf the Qur’anFake your Arab fake Islam 

I clingMy fingers tireOf tearing prison walls aloneAnd all excuses leadingNowhereAnd for whom?

Expose all privatesErrant waysAnd tear down the walls!Fal tukshaf el-‘awraatWatuhattam el-aswaar!

NOTES

1) ‘Awraat: Genitals

2) A’saf en-nakhel and daflas:  Palm tree branches and oleander flowers used to decorate caskets.

3) Azza: Wake held for the dead

4) Sabra: Prickly pears cactus stubbornly growing on the ruins of Palestinian villages.

5) Handhal:Cartoon creation, by Naji El-Ali, depicting Palestinians watching, hands tied behind the back, history unfolding.

6) Ramadan:  Muslim holy month of fasting from food, sex and other life pleasures.

7) Et-teen waz-zaytoun of the Qur’an: Figs and olives mentioned in the Qur’an, the Muslim holy book.