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 

I Threw My Stone

By: Fadi Zanayed (written during the first Intifadah)


I dreamt I was throwing a stone
I heard it whiz through the air
I saw it striking the helicopter
I ran toward it
I wedged a pipe in its tail
I saw the Israeli soldiers shooting
I watched the bullet hit the child
I carried the child to a place of worship
I heard the soldiers coming
I entered one door than another
I came upon a meeting room
I saw the Star of David
I boldly asked for help
I was shunned away
I became more determined
I felt my adrenaline kick in
I ran out to an exit and the sun
I clutched the boy tighter
I saw familiar faces
 I looked around
I saw their happiness
I shouted " This boy needs help!!
I saw no reaction
I observed the abundance
I destroyed the picnic table
I arose from my sleep
I wrote down this poem
I threw my stone

Camp David Sentiments

(This poem was written on December 4, 2011)

The scene was set in the summer of 1978

President Carter invited Middle East rivals

To Camp David for more than a debate

But Egypt and Israel were the only arrivals

I felt then as I do now

That the PLO missed an opportunity

I could not understand how

How Palestinians could than avoid scrutiny

To dramatize our plight and gain international recognition

PLO member organizations did acts

Like the Munich Olympics’ devastation

I call it as it is, these are the facts

Attending the summit I stated

Would legitimize our struggle

For this I was actually hated

I was in a political toggle

Yasir Arafat had no agenda to hatch

As Israel refused to participate with a PLO delegation

Israel will only accept PLO members if they were to attach

To attach to a Jordanian configuration

There was a call to accept UN Resolution 242

And to amend the PLO charter

In exchange for US recognition and credibility too

But Arafat’s reluctance took us backwards and farther

The outcome of Camp David was a tragedy

Begin offered autonomy after 5 years

Isolated Egypt as if it were a commodity

And thereby dividing Arab unity with shears

In 1980 I advocated for Israeli recognition

When I visited the University of Illinois campus

I was confronted with dejection

Called a traitor, ruffled and put in a fuss

Camp David was not ideal I must admit

But Palestinians did not participate

Its fate could have been refit

I wonder, as I sit here and meditate

Fadi Zanayed

December 4, 2011

8:04 am

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

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.)

The Olive Tree Howls For Justice

See the Palestinian lady hugging a tree

Not just any tree but an olive tree

See the olive branches cut to the ground

As an Israeli soldiers stand around

See the bulldozer which did the massacre

The massacre of an olive tree acre 

Listen to the agony coming from her face

As the soldiers stand in disgrace

Listen to the tree as it stretches out its arms

As if it is calling out to God to see the harms

Listen to the wind as it blows in the sky

Howling injustice my oh my!

Fadi Zanayed

December 8, 2011

1:45 pm CT

(  © 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.)