One who thinks himself above people
has conspired with the nothingness inside.
*
A rich man and a poor man are quarrelling over a river.
In our capitalist times, no arbiter can give them justice
except the water.
*
Because he is lion of the skies
out of pride, he does not flap his wings likes the birds
this eagle.
*
Because I work in construction
I’m an expert in poems
of constructive destruction.
*
A good poet must
be the sun
in winter.
*
If my words speak volumes
my eyes explicate.
*
After finishing a poem, I recite it
as if I were a tree
that recites its fruit when they ripen
*
We beseech the world to liberate us from occupation
as if we were thirsty and standing
at the Dead Sea.
*
If my mother is a sea and my father a valley
I am like that valley
winding my way
to extinction.
*
During byzantine arguments, silence
is the better part of reason.
*
Politicians love the night
not for its dark eyes
but because it hides their faces while
they address the people.
*
Those who leave take something of us with them
for in their absence the tears fall
and follow them.
*
In a snow-filled forest
I see the tracks of lionesses stalking a gazelle
At the end of the trail there is always a patch of blood.
Our lives are like that, we humans.
*
If the bug-eyed Jahiz had lived in our days
his eyes would have popped right out.
*
As we grow up, we spend less time in front of the mirror.
Here is comprehensive school
and this is the first lesson.
*
Where will you take me, O Lord
if I commit a sin
in Heaven?
*
If you took the place of the Mediterranean Sea,
so close to us, then dear Ocean
you would not be Pacific.
*
When I grow old, I won’t write pious poetry.
I’m not like those who find religion at the end of their days
a diplomat with God.
*
Those who live with you
don’t come to respect you because of your years
but because of your experiences.
*
When the eagle fails to catch the rabbit, he says to him,
“Only joking.”
That’s the approach of birds of prey
and America.
*
The Palestinian does not bend in submission
but as the bow of struggle
awaiting an archer.
*
Finally!
Wise plants grow on our graves
not rising upwards to heaven, where lies the secret of death
but growing downwards seeking who planted
their life.
has conspired with the nothingness inside.
*
A rich man and a poor man are quarrelling over a river.
In our capitalist times, no arbiter can give them justice
except the water.
*
Because he is lion of the skies
out of pride, he does not flap his wings likes the birds
this eagle.
*
Because I work in construction
I’m an expert in poems
of constructive destruction.
*
A good poet must
be the sun
in winter.
*
If my words speak volumes
my eyes explicate.
*
After finishing a poem, I recite it
as if I were a tree
that recites its fruit when they ripen
*
We beseech the world to liberate us from occupation
as if we were thirsty and standing
at the Dead Sea.
*
If my mother is a sea and my father a valley
I am like that valley
winding my way
to extinction.
*
During byzantine arguments, silence
is the better part of reason.
*
Politicians love the night
not for its dark eyes
but because it hides their faces while
they address the people.
*
Those who leave take something of us with them
for in their absence the tears fall
and follow them.
*
In a snow-filled forest
I see the tracks of lionesses stalking a gazelle
At the end of the trail there is always a patch of blood.
Our lives are like that, we humans.
*
If the bug-eyed Jahiz had lived in our days
his eyes would have popped right out.
*
As we grow up, we spend less time in front of the mirror.
Here is comprehensive school
and this is the first lesson.
*
Where will you take me, O Lord
if I commit a sin
in Heaven?
*
If you took the place of the Mediterranean Sea,
so close to us, then dear Ocean
you would not be Pacific.
*
When I grow old, I won’t write pious poetry.
I’m not like those who find religion at the end of their days
a diplomat with God.
*
Those who live with you
don’t come to respect you because of your years
but because of your experiences.
*
When the eagle fails to catch the rabbit, he says to him,
“Only joking.”
That’s the approach of birds of prey
and America.
*
The Palestinian does not bend in submission
but as the bow of struggle
awaiting an archer.
*
Finally!
Wise plants grow on our graves
not rising upwards to heaven, where lies the secret of death
but growing downwards seeking who planted
their life.