I Have a Dream - Salem-News.Com

(LONDON) - I am always heartened when we receive a new poem from Nahida in London; I often think they are among the most valuable contributions to Salem-News.com, along with the work of Luke Easter, Salem-News.com's other poet, who became part of our team at the same time Nahida joined us.

When she was just a small child, Nahida's family had to flee the heavy foot of Israeli violence in 1967- during the Six Day War. It breaks my heart that this writer was born and raised with a different understanding of life's mission.

No human being should ever be exposed to military and political violence; it is a terrible thing that we should be on the other side of as a world society, because the idea of children bearing witness to man's hardest and cruelest side is unbearable as a thought.

Yet it is the daily reality of millions of people who live in occupied lands, in refugee camps, where laws literally favor those of one religion over another. Separation walls surround neighborhoods and people are constantly subjected to ruthless treatment at checkpoints that are highly unnecessary.

I can write about this all day long, and I may even tell you that I am a Palestinian because in my heart, I have indeed come to support their plight that much, but Nahida is truly a Palestinian woman, not just figuratively, and her words have far more impact than mine ever could in this area, because a mother knows things no other person alive knows, and I say that as a father.

I have a dream

When they stop bombing

No more shelling

To rush outside

And up a tall tree

To tie a string

Make a swing

Fly up so high

And touch the blue sky

Leave my tears up there

To come down as rain…

I have a dream
When tanks leave the camp

No BING … BONG … BANG

To run out and see

The deep huge sea

To swim towards his heart

Jumping up and down

Wishshsh … washshsh

Splish … Splash

Wash all my fears away

I have a dream

When soldiers leave my town

And the camp walls fall down

To go outside

And sitting on the sand

Write a sad story

With my own hand

Then wait for the tide

To wash my pain away

I have a dream

When they lift the curfew

To skip outside

Holding in my hand

The string of my kite

Racing with the wind

Fly it up so high

Tying to its tail

All my nightmares

And with the fluffy clouds

Rinse them all away

I have a dream

When we free our land

To open all the doors

Invite the rainbow in

Holding on his hand

To dance with my heart

Going round and round

Twirling like a derwish

Gathering love and joy

In my right palm

And down the other hand

To every needy child

Give it all away!

--
“When a man who is honestly mistaken hears the truth, he will either cease being mistaken, or cease being honest.”

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.

If you like poetry and are intrigued by the notion of helping the Palestinian people and learning more, you can purchase Nahida's books, I Believe in Miracles and Palestine, The True Story by visiting: