The Poetryzine magazine presents the selected poems from the poetry book DISPLACED TREASURES: A Collection of Poems of Exile (Jalees Publishing House, 2008) by Palestinian poet Nina Abdul Razzak
Vicious Circle
(April 23, 2004)
Can't move forward
Can't go back
Nothing around me is white
Nor is it even black
The past is like the present
The present like the past
The future is nowhere in sight
And time is running fast
Uncertainty prevails everywhere
Nothing is for sure
No place for the known
Everything is so obscure
Confusion is certainly my state
So many questions in mind
Solutions to which
I just can't seem to find
Growing up is what I am
Killing time as I can
Going around in circles
With no direction or plan
My goals are personal
And that's all they are
Being the refugee I am
I just can't seem to get too far
No country to belong to
No government to obey
No one to vote for
Not even a tax to pay
What sort of life is this
I no longer know
All it looks like is
A footstep hidden in the snow
A footstep of a person
Going around in a circle
Waiting for the sun to shine and
From behind a thick cloud to twinkle
Twinkle twinkle
You bashful star
Lead the way
And show the world who you are
Shine all around
But especially on me
Help me walk the path
To my long lost identity
Red, Black, White, and Green
(July 6,2005)
It has often been said that the color of red
Signifies the blood that for freedom has been shed.
It has often been said that the color of black
Represents the mourning for those not coming back.
It has often been said that the color of white
Symbolizes the peace that is every human's right.
It has often been said that the color of green
Stands for the beauty of a nature so serene.
With this I'm afraid, my friend, I cannot but disagree.
For the truth, in your case, is that there is more to your colors
Than what the eye and the imagination can see.
While all that is aforementioned is in a sense true
And seems like common knowledge and common sense too,
There is way much more still in store for you.
Red stands for the love and the caring sympathy
In the hearts of the people bedazzled by your dignity.
While black indicates the majestic reverence and sincerity
With which your people look up to you while soaring free.
White, on the other hand, implies the purity and transparency
Of the souls within the worshippers of your Divinity.
But green oh green symbolizes the richness and fertility
Of those refined minds planning to determine your destiny!
The Most Generous of All
(A tribute to the Palestinian mother)
(July 15, 2005)
Time after time you have succeeded
To prove to the world and show
That no matter where you set your foot,
The light of your generosity continues to glow.
Your generosity is demonstrated in that
Night after night and day after day,
Your costly dues to your beloved country
You never fail to profusely pay.
What you have so far had to offer
Exceeds what any patriot has ever given.
And all of that you have done
Without a single complaint or objection.
The sacrifices you have made
And the tears you have cried
Transcend the battles that have been fought
And all the honorable lives of those who died.
To you, what you have so far presented
May, out of your modesty, not seem like much.
The truth is that if the things you have granted were to be counted
They would turn out to be more than a whole bunch.
From precious time you have offered
To personal freedoms and sleepless nights;
From distressing worries you've suffered;
To inconceivable horrors, terrors, and frights.
All this and much more you hold in
Your exemplary repertoire of contributions.
Not to forget the sons and daughters you have grieved over
And granted to a home, whose love is a part of your constitution.
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