Solidarity
Is not something you discuss over dinner,
It is not a hypothetical position to be
Defended on theoretical chessboards,
It is not an artful argument
It does more than merely ‘strike a chord’.
Solidarity
Is not the sum of its facebook likes,
It is not painting your face for the day
We Were All Palestinians,
Then pressing play on real life
And pause on the siege
Till the next time Gaza bleeds.
Solidarity
Lives in blood and bone,
It’s the calling of another land your home
Just because it’s here on planet earth,
The calling of another’s brother kin
Just because he’s here on planet earth
And we have some power and freedom here,
For what it’s worth.
If there be such a thing,
This killing is a sin
And so is silence.
Solidarity
Is a reflex that can’t be curbed by convenience.
Feet that march till the tanks stop.
Voices chanting till the lies stop.
Eyes still open till the killings stop.
A full, heavy silence for the naming of the dead
Then “no justice, no peace –
Hands off the Middle East.”
For Ali Saad Dawabsheh