Beauty and the Beast

Subdued
She was lying on the floor
Injured and hurting

This image courtesy: mustafamilitant.deviantart.com

(LONDON) - Symbolism is often at the heart of creative expression. While it is symbolic, I see in Nahida's poem strong parallels with reality that are unavoidable. The ravaged woman in this poem is Palestine, and indeed she has been ravaged and her gashes filled in with settlement cement.

Israel simply does not follow international law, you can word it any way that you choose, but in plain and simple terms, since its inception in 1948, Israel has been stealing land and destroying families who had long flourished in the Holy Land.

Naturally, the very idea that any Palestinians were displaced, shook the Arab world to the core. It has continued and on this very day, homes that Palestinians have owned, along with orchards of olive trees and other crops, are being destroyed to make room for a new Jewish settlement, and when we say these are illegal under international law, it is truth... not opinion.

The Americans are the biggest supporters of Israel. The Americans do not recognize the Palestinian Right of Return, yet they do support Israel's walls that imprison all of Palestine. In effect, the Americans who support Israel support those illegal actions. I for one absolutely do not support those actions. And as a final word, this once again, is not as much about religion, as it is about oppression.

The people responsible for the destruction, occupation and theft of Palestinian land, are Zionists. Many Jewish people in the world are not Zionist; and a large percentage of those who are, use the term 'Christian' to describe themselves. Zionism, largely sold to the American Christian institutions, is racism and its tool of war is state terrorism. It accuses its battered opposition of terrorism, yet for Israel, it is a daily practice.
- intro by Tim King

Battered

She pleaded for a break

A moment of stillness

A moment of silence

A moment of nothingness

A moment of death even

Or just a wheelchair

Warlocks in black encircled her

Intoxicated with their "chosen-ness"

They danced and twirled around her shadow

Revamped, manicured, suit-wearing cannibals

Drooled over her heart
Eyes rolling

Salivating over their supper-to-be

A stone-soldier stood by

No tongue, no heart, no eyes

In his hand I saw the knife that carved out her heart

Trembling, I came closer

She was still breathing

Her frayed heart still throbbing

She is ALIVE

I wept of pain

I wept of joy

My salty tears rubbed deep into her wounds

She jumped

Kneeling down, I whispered something in her ear

She gasped for life

Looked at me

Eyes sparkled with a grin

She knew

The birth of her baby is near

Her soul bounced back

Vigorous, buoyant, whole again

and Stunningly Beautiful

“To smile when confronted with the most severe oppression, is an act of Resistance rooted in unparalleled beauty.”

~ Jonathan Azaziah

"And I, a Palestinian from occupied Palestine, refuse to share

my homeland with Zionist colonizers"

~ Reham Alhelsi

"Facts" do NOT need laws to enforce, validate or defend them, what they require is research to examine their narrative and correct it for better accuracy and understanding.

“When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either cease being mistaken, or cease being honest.”

_________________________________

Nahida Izzat is a Jerusalem-born Palestinian refugee who has lived in exile for over forty two years, after being forced to leave her homeland at the tender age of seven in 1967, during the six-day war. She has a degree in mathematics, but art is one of her favorite pastimes. She loves hand-made things and so makes dolls, cards, and most of her own clothes. She also writes poetry, participates in written dialogues and believes in building bridges, not walls.

She started writing when her friends insisted she should write about her memories, experiences and feelings as a Palestinian.When she did it all came out sounding—she was told—like poetry! So she self-published two books: I Believe in Miracles and Palestine, The True Story.

Her dream is to return back home to a free and liberated Palestine.

If you like poetry and are intrigued by the notion of helping the Palestinian people and learning more, you can purchase Nahida's books, I Believe in Miracles and Palestine, The True Story by visiting: I Believe in Miracles: a Collection of Palestinian Poems

ISBN 13: 9780954839109 | ISBN 10: 0954839102

£12.99 paperback Nahida Izzat (2004)

You can write to Nahida: nahidaexiledpalestinian@gmail.com

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