Thursday, November 4, 2021

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.