Poetry: We Are Not Alone

It is true that it is better to die standing, than to live crawling. For some, these are life's two choices.

Boy in Gaza Courtesy: unison.org.uk

(LONDON) - The attack on the Free Gaza Aid Flotilla has left the world stunned and shocked, but the movement itself is validation that people worldwide will not accept the prolonged suffering of the people of Gaza.

Like the Palestinians these courageous volunteers seek to reach and assist, their hearts are strong and enduring.

They will not stop, only temporarily be slowed down.

It is significant that so many human beings from so many nations are willing to put themselves in harm's way for the simple purpose of serving less fortunate human beings.

There are no easy ways to digest or regard a government's desire to block human beings from receiving aid.

It is true that it is better to die standing, than to live crawling. For some, these are life's two choices.

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We are not alone

We –Palestinians- are not alone
Best of humanity… on our side
Mighty truth… Gracious morality… on our side
Justice, dignity, human values, radiant hope
Are on our side

Soil, sand, and stones
Trees, poppies, lemon zest, and morning mist
Jerusalem sunshine and Jenin’s moonlight
Haifa’s Carmel and Jaffa’s shoreline
Are all on our side

We stand firm
As the stick of Moses
Splitting good and evil
Refusing to bow down

Our tragedy is a sieve
Filtering the wicked away

We all live and die…
Better die standing
Than to live crawling

Better to live with a wounded body
and a soul…whole
Than to live and die
with a disfigured soul
Weighed down by oppression
Bent by corruption
Inflated by arrogance
Twisted by greed
Intoxicated by power

Better die standing
With a soul…whole

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Love, salutation, and gratitude
To all the great pure selfless souls on board Flotilla

-- nahida

To defeat the aggressors is not enough to make peace durable. The main thing is to discard the ideology that generates war. ~ Ludwig von Mises Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end of the day that says . . . I'll try again tomorrow. ~ Anne Henninghake

فليتكَ تحلو والحياةُ مريرة

وليتكَ ترضى والأنامُ غضابُ

ألا ليتَ الذي بيني وبينكَ عامرٌ

وبيني وبينَ العالمينَ خرابُ

إذا صحَّ منكَ الودُ فالكلُ هينٌ

وكلُ الذي فوقَ الترابِ ترابُ

يارب علمني ان احب الناس كما احب نفسي

وعلمني ان احاسب نفسي كما احاسب الناس

وعلمني ان التسامح هو اكبرمراتب القوة وان

حب الانتقام هو اول مظاهر الضعف

يارب اذا أسأت الى الناس فأعطني شجاعة الإعتذار

وإذا أساء لي الناس فأعطني شجاعة العفو

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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.