Dilemma of Direction

Shall I follow the clouds

Or shall I follow the sun

                Which will lead me to

                The mountain tops of Palestine

                Within my dilemma I see visions of clouds

                Endlessly hovering over my ancestor’s olive trees

I see my people living in gloom day by day

In an endless hopeless state under the iron fists of the Zionists

                I hear rumors of peace

                A homeland for my people and security for all

                My senses tell me to follow the clouds

                For surely they will lead me to Palestine

My dilemma is compounded

For should I return behind the clouds

                The answer must surely be NO!

                For the clouds will still be forever over Palestine

                But if I should not follow the clouds

                Then how can I follow the sun

What then shall I do

My dilemma grows deeper and deeper

                                Wait! I have it!

I shall lead the sun to Palestine



(  © 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.)

That Is Our...

Transplanted yet set in the past

Assimilating yet set apart

That is our people

Free yet seeking to be free

Followers yet seeking to lead

That is our leaders

Organizing yet not organized

Unified yet not in unity

That is our organizations

Horrified yet also bewildered

Concerned yet also apathetic

That is our feelings

Reconciliation yet not reconciled

Agreement yet not agreeing

That is our peace process


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Why?

Why build Har Homa

To preempt negotiations

Setting off clashes

Why decide to provoke

To keep your coalition alive

Ignoring the security risks

Why disobey your advisors

To appease a few

Setting off bombings

Why kill thyself

To kill others in the act

Slaughtering the innocent

Why deprive a child

To make a point

Leaving her motherless

Why set off another tragedy

To preserve Jabal Abu Ghneim

Expressing your rage 








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Web Of Money, Time and Thoughts

What a web we are in                

                Go here go there

Wedding, graduation, birthday parties

                                                Are we in our own refugee camp

Not concerned about our brother

Where is our money going

                                Pay this pay that

Taxes, insurance, mortgage

                                                                Are we better off sending our money home

So our brother can eat

Where is our free time

                                Run here run there

Working, shopping, meeting

Are we losing ourselves in our own hourglass

Leaving our brother to fend for himself

Where are our thoughts

                                                                                Do this do that

Rushing, faxing, hurrying

                                                Are we lost within our own mind

Not daring to express our brother’s concerns

Where are we going

                This way that way

Critiquing, objecting, fighting

                                Are we caught within ourselves

Abandoning our brother’s struggle in our disunity

The Uprising Home and the Stone

(This poem was written in 1988)

On the lot we own

50’ by 125’ surrounded by stone

Seven rooms house two

My conscience tells me that is too few

In front there is a driveway

In back we harvest the land as we may

Our furniture is brand new

And of course the living room has an adorable view

Water comes from the faucet

New clothes fill the closet

Two bathrooms are a luxury

The wall pictures make a wonderful memory

The washer does away with the clothesline

The thermostat controls the temperature just fine

The carpet on the floor keeps our feet warm

The brick house protects us from the storm

Our house has given us a sense of insulation

But are we really free from the oppression and occupation

Can we really be that far away

From the stone being thrown everyday

Should we purchase another phone

Or donate the money to our people who throw the stone

Can we cut down on meat

And donate the money for our people to eat

O’yes we must give

We must give for as long as we live

For it could have been us

Living in that unholy mess

(  © 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.)

Don't Forget Me!

                Hey there...where are you going?

                Do not turn your back

                Come-hither I tell you

                Hey there...did you forget

                I am your people

                I am your culture

                Hey there...hold your head up

                I am what makes you who you are

                I am you

                Hey there...be proud of me

                I am your hospitality

                I am your heritage

                Hey there...come see me

                Join me in conversation

                Dance to my music

                Hey there...appreciate my richness

                Eat of my food

                Absorb my anecdotes

                Hey there...now you can go

                Praise me to your friends

                Write about me to the world


(  © 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.)

Due Diligence

What is all the commotion?

Why is there so much confusion?

Please tell me, I was on vacation

While you were baking in the sun

The enemy fought us in battle and won

Now it is over, now it is done

But I was only gone one week

For some fishing on a favorite creek

My absence cannot be the reason we were so weak

Not only your absence, but also of others

Palestine was deserted by her sons and daughters

The blame must rest with the mothers

Desertion is too harsh a description

I cannot understand your tone of condemnation

All I took was a one-week vacation

Due diligence is what is needed

For us to be liberated

Your absence has driven us back to where we started

I now understand, Palestinians cannot rest

Regaining our homeland is a long hard quest

Buy why on the mother’s shoulders must the blame rest

Palestinian mothers bear a heavy responsibility

They must instill in their children absolute loyalty

To there country and nationality


(  © 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.)