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Ahmed Miqdad

Ahmed Miqdad is a Palestinian poet who lives and writes in Gaza City. He writes of his poetry collection Gaza Narrates Poetry: "I wrote my poems through the latest war on Gaza which started in July, 2014 and lasted for fifty-one days. I wrote them under the shelling and attacks of the Israeli planes and tanks, under the hovering of the drones and the sounds of rockets and heavy bombs, between the homeless civilians and between my little children. I wrote these poems, with the lack of power and food, and with fear and stress. These poems were written from my heart to the heart of my reader." Gaza Narrates Poetry can be purchased on Amazon by clicking the hyperlinked title.



How Can I Forget You?!

Each dawn you come to my mind,
every hour of the day,
your image ticks the o'clock,
with every knock on the door,
I imagine you are returning.

********

The smell of your body,
comes through your clothes,
with every drop of water,
your voice passes through my ears,
with every wave of the sea,
I remember our days,
with every long night,
I feel your warmth,
put my hand on your pillow,
with every drop of tears,
I feel you.

********

How can I forget you?!,
you are alive there,
Await my coming to you,

********

How can I forget you?!,
while your photos are on every wall of our home,
how can I forget you?!,
you left three children to me,
they look like you,
have the same smell,
and the same eyes,
which I see you through.

********

How can I forget you?!,
while they ask about you,
is our father there in Paradise?!,
we want go there to join him.

********

How can I forget you?!
especially every Thursday,
I visit your tomb,
let you listen to my prayers,
and my heart beats for you,
you are my martyred husband,
How can I forget you?!.



Shireen Essawi

The mothers give birth to daughters,
And Palestine delivered you.
You are so special,
Like the complete moon in the dark night,
And the glamorous star in the pure sky.

You are the symbol of freedom,
And you are the best of heroines.
You are strong enough,
To defeat your enemies;
You are stronger than their chains,
And the bars will fall down
In front of your feet.
Your big smile is like the bullets
Which kill your jailers:
They will never be able
To make it disappear.

You are a Palestinian lioness
Chasing the cowards
Who seek to conquer your will.
They don’t understand
That you are like the stubborn Mountain
That no one can move.
But it can erupt fiery lava
To burn the hearts inside their bodies.
You will be the ghost
Which attacks their sweet nights
And turns their dreams to nightmares.

The ironic bars will collapse,
The heavy chains will be broken,
The closed gates will be opened.
Then the dark nights of detention
Will be so white,
The beams of freedom,
Will touch your body,
And the deep breaths of Palestine
Will heal all your pain and suffering.

Copyright © Ahmed Miqdad 2015



Shireen Essawi, also known as Shireen Issawi, is the sister of the legendary Palestinian hunger striker Samer Issawi, who fasted for an incredible 266 days (nearly nine months). Shireen Issawi is a lawyer, and she is being imprisoned without any charges or fair trial. She has been in detention for well over a year, and was granted the Al Karama Human Rights Award in December 2014 while imprisoned, for her efforts in defending the rights of Palestinian political prisoners. Both of her brothers, Samer and Medhat, are also still being detained.

Shireen Essawi told Hanan Al Khateeb, attorney of the Council of Prisoner Affairs, that she suffered a brutal beating in Hasharon prison on May 3, 2015. She stated that on that day, prison guards invaded the section where female prisoners are held on the false pretext of one of the prison guards having been attacked. When Shireen and five other female prisoners protested against being taken into isolation, she was assaulted and savagely beaten, which resulted in injuries and severe pain. She said that the prison guards were shouting wildly at the prisoners, and threatened to post pictures of the beatings on social media. She was taken into isolation in Ramleh prison, under the false accusation of incitement. She was subjected to an internal trial and was sentenced to seven days of isolation and one month without family visits. She described her conditions in isolation as extremely harsh: being kept in a tiny cell that has no bed, which forced her to sleep on the floor, and without the presence of a washing basin or any other commodities whatsoever. She was completely isolated from the world, and her cantina account was closed, adding to the harshness of her conditions by not allowing her to buy any food. 

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