Friday, December 9, 2011

DEIR YASSIN


(This poem was written on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Deir Yassin Massacre by the Irgun Gang, led by the future Prime Minister of Israel Menecham Begin)


For fifty years
I have had these tears
As the night cries
For what has been
You cannot begin to realize

For fifty years
The cries bring forth more tears
For what he said
I will never forget
Tonight son I will tuck you in bed

For fifty years
I have waited in tears
For him to enter our door
If only for one minute
Wanting to see him once more

For fifty years
I have looked back with tears
Seeing him so brave
Defending Deir Yassin
Yet knowing he is in his grave

For fifty years
I wondered in tears
For what could have been
A town so magnificent
No more can it be seen

For fifty years
I have watched with tears
At our plight
Filled with much  misery
After we took flight


For fifty years
I look back with tears
1948 was a catastrophe
Our hopes were dashed
When will we be free

For fifty years
I cannot wipe away the tears
Seeing those bodies
In Sabra and Chatilla
Renewed all my animosities

For fifty years
I choked back tears
At that famous handshake
Where will it lead
Will it relieve my heartache

For fifty years
I welcomed the tears
As our leader stood on our soil
We are our government
But will it lead to no more toil

For fifty years
I am saddened with tears
At our complacency
Feeling the work is done
Yet only in its infancy

For fifty years
I am filled with fresh tears
Deir Yassin is only a breathe away
It lives in our memories
No matter what comes our way

For fifty years
I have longed for an end to those tears
For my father and his smile
Our battle has just begun
It encounters us with ever mile

For fifty years
I cannot shed these tears
The battle is within me
For I look to my son
To set us free


(  © Copyright, Fadi Zanayed.  Publication or distribution of this material is allowed provided its content is not altered and the source and its author are cited.)

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