The Apartheid Israeli Wall

Imagine if you will this day

A wall surrounding Any Town, USA

Let’s say it is Peoria in the heartland

Occupied and surrounded by an apartheid band

Only one gate allows passage outside

To which the residents must abide

The gate is open only in three intervals

A total of 50 minutes--at this one marvels

But wait and listen to me

For there is more to hear and see

Children rush the gate in the morning

To cross to their school through the opening

If in the afternoon the Apartheid soldier forgets to open the gate

The school children for dinner they will be late

Waiting outside until the night opening

Waiting alone along the crossing

But wait and listen to me

Should you happen to be

Happen to be pregnant and in need

In need of a hospital to deliver your seed

No cars may leave through the gate

This is how they subjugate

As this is a way to enslave

The residents inside the enclave

But wait and listen to me

For there is much more I can tell thee

The agriculture of the town is outside the wall

The intention of the apartheid is to haul

Rather to confiscate the land around

Preventing the owners from tilling the ground

As only the very young and very old can pass through

Can pass through the gate leaving workers with nothing to do

But wait and listen to me

Listen to this I beg and plea

Water wells are confiscated

For residents to be motivated

Motivated to leave in time

Leave the place called the bread basket of Palestine

This is a well laid plan

A well laid plan the Apartheid State of Israel did design

But wait and listen to me

If you have a brother you want to see

The wall sometimes cuts through the middle

Middle of the town and does fiddle

Fiddle with relationships and relatives

As on either side each one lives

The Apartheid occupiers do not care

As they divide, split and flare

Flare the emotions and leave them in despair

A policy to uproot the residence is in the air

But wait and listen to me

This is not Peoria you see

This is Qalqilya in Palestine

The conditions are not fine

The town’s people are in a prison

For that Apartheid Israel is the reason

Building a wall that does divide

Dividing people on either side


(  © 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 Stone

 

Held proudly

It can give us the courage of an army

Inside our hearts we need a stone

Nothing then can prevent our desire

Thrown powerfully  

It can bring down a mighty tank

Inside our minds we need a stone

Nothing then can destroy our will

Hurled rightfully

It can mobilize a movement

Inside our soul we need a stone

Nothing then can stop our march

Videoed abundantly

It can spin worldwide in a viral

Inside cyberspace we need a stone

Nothing then can delete our cause

Raised triumphantly

It can bring parties to the peace table

Inside our strategy we need a stone

Nothing then can prevent our Palestinian State

Fadi Zanayed

December 10, 2011

9:17am

(  © 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 Jerusalemite

 

The darkness of the morning engulfs my spirit

Although the sun will undoubtedly rise

I will still be empty within my soul

I live in the land of the brave

Yet I feel feeble and without energy

As I long to break the restraints of freedom

I was born in the City of Peace

By birthright I should be able to live in its glory

Yet I am imprisoned outside its walls

A Jew born outside its holy sites

May absorb its beauty from within

And glorify God inside its blossom

I am a naturalized citizen of God’s City

Yet God is used to cleanse me away

To punish me because I am a Palestinian

I am a Jerusalemite within my spirit

My sun rises over my City of Peace

Beckoning me to return, to return, to return

Fadi Zanayed

December 10, 2011

5:56 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.)

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.)

To You I Ask

                To you O’fedayeeh

                I ask you to be fight for my rights

                Fight for my right to be at peace

To you O’song writer

I ask that you write me a song

Sing about my longing to be home

                To you O’lawyer

                I ask that you defend my rights

                Prosecute the injustice inflicted upon me

To you O’doctor

I ask that you heal my wounds

Nurture my heartache and my soul

                To you O’political activist

                I ask you to continue to speak out

                Protest my incarceration for my thoughts

To you O’businessman

I ask that you continue to donate

Give money to those who promote my cause

                To you O’poet

                I ask that you continue your prose

                Declaring with rhythmic words my desire for peace

To you O’parents

I ask that you teach your children

Educate them about my culture

                To you O’grandparents

                I ask that you to be guardians of our heritage

                Retell stories of playing on my serene and beautiful hills

To you O’children

I ask you to pledge yourselves to me

Learn to educate others about my history

                To you O’leader

                I ask you to govern with justice     

                Transfer orderly the power of my government  


(  © 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.)

Everything is Palestine

If the news does not contain

News about Palestine

There is no news

If the singer does not sing

A song about Palestine

He is not a singer

If a movie does not contain

A scene of Palestine

It is not a movie

If a parent does not teach

His children about Palestine

He is not a parent

If a bird does not migrate

In the spring from Palestine

He is not a bird

If the rain does not come

From the direction of Palestine

It is not rain

If the air that I breathe

Does not pass through Palestine

It is not air


(  © 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.)

Baby Girl Zanayed

(This poem was my very first poem written inside my mind while driving after losing my first child.  She lived only 5 minutes)

Please daddy, don’t you cry

For God has taken me to the sky

Please mommy, don’t feel blue

For you must know I love you

Please do not worry; I will be fine

For I’ll petition God for peace in Palestine

It is a mission I must do

God has chosen me to see it through

I will be with you; you will be fine

For all your thoughts will be mine

Please do not worry, for you will see

A healthy child with help from me






(  © 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.)