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Writer's picturePoetryzine

Nina Abdul Razzak: Poems of Exile

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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