Alice in Holy-land

In this land of wonders, Alice saw... murderers get Nobel peace prizes, thieves are the guardians of peace and security, war criminals are the law,

Visit Nahida's blog Poetry for Palestine

(LONDON) -

Alice was falling up, then rising down,

With a quantum leap, transcending

Into a parallel universe

Were every thing is upside down,

And nothing is what it seems to be;

In a forgotten land, once called Palestine.

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In this land of wonders, Alice saw

Murderers get Nobel peace prizes,

Thieves are the guardians

Of peace and security,

War criminals are the law,

.

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In this land of faith, Alice saw

Strangers claiming that

God gave them every thing;

For they are the chosen

Above all others,

Despite the fact: most of them

Don’t even believe in God.

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In this land of pain, Alice saw

Olive trees uprooted for having roots in the past,

Farmers beaten for harvesting their crops,

Men shot for wanting to pray,

Women imprisoned for having a family,

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Children killed for going to school,

Babies gassed for… being.

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In this land of sorrow

Alice saw people in refugee camps;

With large rustic keys around their necks,

Gazing away in despair

At beautiful, invisible homes in the distance,

With no keyholes, no doors, not even walls.

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In this land of history

Alice saw signs for peace;

That only led to war and terror;

Road maps, but no roads;

Security zones, with no security;

Miles long checkpoints, where nothing is checked.

.

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In this land of paradox

Alice saw a queen of hearts

Leading an army with hearts of stone,

Yet Alice picked up stones

With tender hearts,

Stones with tongues

That can dance and even sing.

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And through the rabbit hole

Alice came out again,

Disorientated and bewildered

Alice was in Holy-land

She went, she saw, she understood.

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Nahida Izzat is a Jerusalem-born Palestinian refugee who has lived in exile for over forty two years, after being forced to leave her homeland at the tender age of seven in 1967, during the six-day war. She has a degree in mathematics, but art is one of her favorite pastimes. She loves hand-made things and so makes dolls, cards, and most of her own clothes. She also writes poetry, participates in written dialogues and believes in building bridges, not walls.

She started writing when her friends insisted she should write about her memories, experiences and feelings as a Palestinian.When she did it all came out sounding—she was told—like poetry! So she self-published two books: I Believe in Miracles, and Palestine the True Story.

Her dream is to return back home to a free and liberated Palestine.

If you like poetry and are intrigued by the notion of learning more about Palestine, you can visit Nahida's blog Poetry for Palestine for more of her writings; prose, poems, letters and dialogues.

You can write to Nahida : nahidaexiledpalestinian@gmail.com