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Palestine
Woman
When
you love a Palestinian woman,
the
essence of resistance seeps into
your existence;
you
comprehend
the
meaning of persistence.
In
her eyes you may see
residue
of a tear,
but
never
a
sign of fear.
When
you love a Palestinian woman,
your
heart is tuned
to
the beat of a heart
that
can never forget.
You
travel far;
you
walk the narrow streets of Jerusalem,
in
the footsteps of Jesus,
carrying
his cross; cleaning his wounds;
wiping his sweat.
When
you love a Palestinian woman
you
love every wave
that
kisses the shores of her land,
every
olive tree in Galilee,
every
particle of salt
in
the Dead Sea.
When
you love a Palestinian woman,
you
love a smile
mysteriously
mixed with pain unknown
to others,
and
a laugh that was choked
when
the land was separated from its
faithful lovers.
When
you love a Palestinian woman
you
love a spirit
that
inherited the will to stand,
and
eyes
that
terrify guards at check-points,
in
a way no man can.
How
can any man love
but
a Palestinian woman?
How
Sad . . .
I’d
like to tell you where I stand
but
my only reference is
how
far away from you,
Isn’t
that sad?
I
want to tell you how I feel
I
want you to understand
but
what I want and how I feel
aren’t
compatible . . .
Isn’t
that mad?
Do
you ever long,
for
that terrifying longing?
Do
you miss that passionate fear
of
wanting to touch my hand?
I
do . . .
Do
you find that sad?
The
world turns,
The world burns
It
shatters and falls to pieces . . .
and
I still have ears
for
your heart
I
still can hear the echo
of
that one distant beat,
fading
little by little
in
the crowd of “matters that matter”
Isn’t
that so very sad?
How
It Scares Me
How
it scares me
to
think
that
if I called
you
might not answer
How
it scares me
How
it scares me
to
think
that
in the middle of the night
I
won’t hear your voice
when
I want to
How
tough this night is
I
hear it ticking away
second
by second
it
occurs to me
to
take a pill
to
make me sleep tonight
How
it scares meto
think
I
might not find you
on
the other side
of
the phone
if
I called
How
I feel
that
I must find you there
on
the other side
of
the phone
You
would answer
and
I would talk
and
talk
my
love
so
I can sleep tonight
How
I try to hide
this
love
to
make it last
How
it scares me
to
think
you
might be sitting
here
then
suddenly
stand
up
and
walk away
there
I
take a picture
of
myself
alone
it’s
not a good one
dark
and distant and hazy
And
inside me
your
voice echoes
even
though I can’t understand
the
words
How
I wish
your house wasn’t that far
and
that the gate
beneath
your house
wasn’t
made of iron bars
I
would have come up
in
a second
and
talked to you
and
talked
my
love
so
I can sleep tonight
—poems
by Nicole Aviva
Poetry
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