Izzeddin Hawamda : Inside of Me

 

 

 

Inside of me
Words are crumbling
The frightened dust
Hides from the debris
The scattered broken cement is looking for the
Vocabulary to express its dreams
The homes and balconies
That decorated
the clouds
The smiles that were
Here and there
No trace of them today
Now
There is only thick
smoke here,
Broken steel there
Today, I see
dreams swinging
on the broken glass windows
Looking for a way out
From this occupation
Today,
My country bleeds
yet still offers tea
To the passersby
It teaches the world
The meaning of life
My country
is a swarm of pigeons
That got lost
At the checkpoint
It was lost amidst
The bombs
And the wounded wailing
In the streets
Mothers held up
the sky
From falling
As the planes flew by
They lost their personal biography
They confronted
Children
The planes stole their dreams
Despite all the noise
The minarets are heard weeping
And the rubble is searching for life

 

 

 

 

Izzeddin Hawamda was born and raised in a rural village just outside of the city of Nablus in the West Bank, Palestine. He has lived in Canada for over 15 years and currently works as a high school teacher. He is currently working toward a PhD in Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Manitoba. Izzeddin, along with Jewish-Canadian, and Quaker colleagues, is a co-founder of Gaser and has been speaking publicly about the power of dialogue and the importance of sharing, listening, and respecting diverse perspectives and narratives. Izzeddin is also working to develop opportunities for Indigenous students and newcomer students to share spaces and stories in an effort to build bridges and break down the barriers.