MY CHILD

 

My child is wrapped in a white sheet

Lifeless

My eyes are streaming with tears

Endless

My heart is devastated with grief

Immeasurable

My lips kiss her forehead again

Demoralized

My arms hold her tight to my chest

Bewildered

My body is devoid of strength

lethargic 

My cries shout out in anger

Dumbfounded

My mind is perplexed

Incomprehensible 

Pre-Camp David Sentiment

(This poem was written on December 4, 2011)

As a youngster in the 1970s I wanted to know

So I listened to the news at every avenue

Sat and engrossed myself about our foe

No end was the limit of my mind’s view

I read articles about Palestine

In magazines, newspapers and books

Listened as elders would discuss after we did dine

A discussion on Palestine was bait on hooks

Elders cheered as hijackings took place

But I knew that it was wrong

Frustration was painted on their face

As their chins dropped making it long

As I reflect about my father and his generation

They lost Palestine, not one fought in the 1948 war

Not one of them reminisced about an inspiration

Not one story about a military story or something more

Recently I learned of an Iraqi Colonel’s 1948 story

His command was attacking and gaining strength

Without cause his orders came from a phony

A King ordered him to cut the rope’s length

Black gold was pouring out of the Gulf’s well

Using it to our advantage should have been a plan

The Arab Oil Embargo of 1974 they tried to sell

Long gas lines exasperated the American

During the Yon kipper War, OPEC wanted to drive a wedge

Between America and Israel

But it really did strengthen Israel’s edge

Their powerful lobby was and still is for real

So in 1978 this was the scene before Camp David

As Sadat, Carter and Begin met

Tensions were very vivid

And my hopes were set

Fadi Zanayed

December 4, 2011

5:19 am

Look And Tell Me

 LOOK AND TELL ME

13 year old Palestinian girl, Waad Tamimi, confronts Israeli terrorist soldiers. 

Look at the determination in this young Palestinian girl's eyes,
Look at her clinched fist of rage,
Look at her posture...so brave,
Look at her fortitude, courage and strength,
Look at her grit, perseverance and bravery,
Look at the lack of fear that she exhibits,
Then tell me whether she can be your child,
Tell me if you are proud,
Tell me if within your comforts you realize,
Tell me if you realize the human element,
Tell me if you understand the occupation,
Tell me if you understand the dehumanization of a people,
Tell me if you know that Israeli soldiers are terrorists,
Then tell me if you are doing anything about what you know

(  © 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.)

IN HONOR OF MARTYR MUHAMMAD AL-SALAMEH

My fingers are positioned to write down my thoughts

But my thoughts ache to send them to my fingers   

Illusionary words spring forth to appease

A concept not unlike a perceived perception

For I can paint a picture of deception  

Make a rainy day look sunny

Make it seem that black is white

Mass produce a sham

To make you believe

But my heart jumps in

To present the reality

To state my case in open transparency

Truth cannot be hidden

To those willing to seek the truth

So I write about a child

Who the occupying soldiers say pointed a toy gun

Truth be told

No toy was ever exposed

A video has been produced

Not within hours but after a manipulative week

On his seventeenth birthday

He was used to intimidate

To strike fear into Palestinian hearts

A soldier will go unpunished

If I shout out terrorist soldier

My heart does not object

For the picture I painted is of the truth

No manipulation need be perceived

No illusion need be seen

The truth is the truth

Israeli soldiers are terrorists

Crying Out From My Roots

I am an olive tree in the spring

I have come through another winter

The rainy season has made my buds spring forth

My leaves will come next as my vegetation develops

I will continue to grow in the summer

As my harvest reenergizes me in the fall

My greenery dots the landscape

My olive skin is imbedded in my people

My olive oil flows through their veins

I am the agricultural epicenter of Palestine

I am a symbol of Palestinian steadfastness

My oil brings forth health benefits

The first olive pressing makes me extra virgin

Making me a friend of a healthy heart

Those who drink my oil have longevity

My oil is known to block the generation of cancerous tissue

Cooking with my oil is better for you

Those who know zeit wa zatar have cherished me for years

My roots are deep within the soil of the Holy Land of Palestine

My years have turned into centuries

The sun, the rain and the soil are my best friends

I belong to the land

And the land belongs to me

Why would anyone want to destroy me?

I have only benefited mankind

What have I done to cause my uprooting?

I am the oil of Palestine

My branches have survived emperors, conquerors and world wars

My trunks have survived droughts, floods, invasions and war

But I cannot survive the Apartheid Israeli occupation

I cannot survive the Apartheid Israeli settlers

My branches are being slaughtered

My trunks are being massacred

The victims of genocide are committing genocide upon me

The victims of genocide are committing genocide upon my owners

My roots cry out for justice

My roots cry out for understanding

My roots cry out for steadfastness

My roots cry out for education

My roots cry out for intervention

My roots cry out for peace

                Fadi Zanayed

                March 8, 2012

                7:32 am

Flocks

A storm approaches

From where I do not know

The thunder is loud

The lighting lights up the sky

                Flocks of birds

                At different altitudes

                Are flying in and

                About the storm

                                At a high altitude

                                There is a distressed flock

                                Being battered by bolts of lighting

                                Yet they continue to fly directly into the storm

At a much lower level

A determined flock fly close to the earth

Hail strikes at their wings

Yet they continue in defiance

                Above the clouds

                There is an overstocked flock

                They fly in every direction

                Unconcerned with anything around them

                                Closely in front of the storm

                                There is a healthier flock

                                A few try to fly back but are unsuccessful

                                The others do not even bother




(  © 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.)

Fly Bird Fly

Picture Credit:  https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10150253161370814&set=a.10150253142165814.321090.524025813&type=3&l=e4ffae0bcc&theater

Whistle in the night

Somber moment without light

I welcome the song of the bird

For days the only sound I’ve heard

The song of freedom chirping in the air

Ironically I am a prisoner of despair

Fly bird fly in support of those who care for you

Go and fight for what we are due

Prosper mentally in our cause

Become a leader who knows when to pause

Build conviction, honor and determination

Build democracy into a nation

Fly bird fly letting your wings stretch across the sky

Encompass within your wings all within our pie

The whole without all its sum is but a part

Be a leader who is brave and smart

Build a consensus while respecting the call

The call to honor and respect for us all

My captors have brought supper for me to eat

Stay and feast before the duty you have to meet

Whistle in the night

Then I’ll know your path is right

Remember me as I linger in jail

Rescue me before I grow old and frail

I will be with you night and day

I am your conscience in the words you say

Bless the children who throw the stone

It is in their eyes that we see what we own

Condemn the hypocrisy of those who occupy

They see not the history of why they cry

Be good, self-righteous and fair

People will listen over the air

Neither harm nor be harmed in the course you take

Rather set your mark and plant your stake

For here is the line you must draw

While respecting international law

The world will then see us within our right

Using civil disobedience not our might

Fly bird fly letting your energy soar

Free me to Palestine once more

           Fadi Zanayed


(  © 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.)

I Am A Palestinian Eagle

I am a Palestinian eagle

Perched upon the tallest olive tree

I see everything as far as it can be seen

But I see not into the distance

Rather I see into the past and the future

I am a Palestinian eagle

I have seen hilltop settlements eating my land

I have seen olive groves uprooted and destroyed

I have seen tanks aiming at children with stones

I have seen my brethren fight against each other

I am a Palestinian eagle

I see my people imprisoned collectively

I see a Swiss chess carving of my land

I see a checkpoint siege of my people

I see unacceptable zones of occupation

I am a Palestinian eagle

I see no end to negotiations

I see children throwing stones

I see woman taking to the streets

I see churches and mosques preaching

I am a Palestinian eagle

I see the international boycott of Israel

I see UN recognition of Palestine

I see World Court tribunals for Israeli leaders

I see a democratic Palestinian state

                                Fadi Zanayed

                                November 23, 2011

                                8:57 am

(  © 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.)