Song Of Palestine – The Embroidery Of Filasṭīn

  I

تطريز

Tatreez

Thread the landscape,
lineage-lined,
of the earth-sprung
fallaha ‘n fallah,
forging of the soil
this yarn –
wool-washed
‘n millennia-made –
that entangleholds their spirit!

Ferry the flag in its banishment,
weaving with your
Black/Red/Green/White
woven soul
a-singing of the trees
‘n the river
‘n the sea
‘n the dancing feet!

Breathe the folklore;
olive-oil ‘n -wood;
the love-song
‘n the poetry –
bright- ‘n deep-red threads
play the motifs
‘long their patterned roads!

   II

ثَوْب

Thobe

Long tunic,
woolly-sheep shorn,
of heritage ‘n pride –
testament to the
Filastin’yun women!

    III

 كوفية

Kūfiyya

Honeycomb hands
heraldhold to resist
to exist
to persist
to remain on the land!

Fishing-net flung
to collect up the roots
rearing up
to defy
the colonial drum!

Barbed-wire breaks
at the breath of the soul
as it rails
‘gainst the rage
of the oppressor’s hate!

Black/
White
patterned!

Fight
the
oppression!

End now
the savagery
of evil!

Image credit – Baldwin