Arabic Poem of Unknown Author
Uprooted Palestinians
Click here to read: 'An Ode for Lifta'
There are people with volatile souls
They shine and rise at times,
But their glow fades away as they fall other times
They offer you bouquets of roses,
But they do not bother to remove the thorns
As soon as you pick up the rose, so beautiful,
It injures your fingertips
But the sweet scent helps you endure
You gaze at the person who gave it, you smile despite the pain
Those souls are weak, do not be stingy by withholding yourself
From holding them with your wounded hand
Walk with them to the end of the road
Be sure that they will never forget your kindness, ever
Your blood staining their hands will never fade away with passing of time
It will remain a witness to your purity!
There are people with child-like souls
They are like children even at sixty
Their smiles, their jokes, their curiosity, their actions, their lives, their colours
Every thing about them is child-like
You cannot resist falling in love with them
Such souls are beyond description
You probably feel grateful towards them
As with them you feel free to allow the child in you shine
With them, you leave behind all matters of concerns of the adult world
With them you sob over a piece of chocolate, snatched from you
You crack up flying on a seesaw or a swing
What is most delightful is that you can easily make them happy
A smile and a little doll make them feel they own the world
How wonderful are children
How wonderful are people with child-like souls.
There are people with pure souls
In their company, you radiate with deep appreciation
With them you don’t feel inferior, nor superior
They never hit you with a glance of hatred, jealousy or contempt
Never gaze at you with anger
Never attempt to harm you
To the contrary
They always embrace you
With all the warmth of the cosmos
From within the tenderness of your soul, they embroider gardens of hope
In their heart, lies the honesty and truth of the entire world
May Allah be pleased with them.
There are people with warm souls
In their company you cannot but love
You love them, you love to be near them
You love their voices
You love their beauty
You wish you could protect them with your own soul
You wish you could remove all their pain
Even your selfishness loves them
You keep praying, praying, praying
That you would be reunited with them eternally.
There are people with ordinary souls
Maybe you call them so, because you don’t know them
But be assured, that even those
Their souls must have a gift of some sort
Try to discover it.
There are people with wrathful souls
In the vastness of their existence, there is never satisfaction nor contentment
When you come close to them, the misery of the entire world would grow inside you, engulf you
Nothing satisfies their hunger
Nothing fills their void
Nothing surpasses their arrogance
Nothing curtails their greed
Nothing pleases them
Nothing gives them tranquility
But they cannot be content with that
They try to push you to view the world through their dark glasses
Stay away from them… away… away!
