Ahmed Miqdad (b. 1985) is a Palestinian poet resident of Gaza. He
has a B.A. in English and a Master in Education. Ahmed is the author of three
collections of poetry (Gaza Narrates Poetry (2014), Stolen Lives (2015) and
When Hope Is not Enough (2019)) and a novel Falastin: The Hope of Tomorrow
(2018). The latest poetry collection is The Shadow: Poems for the children of
Gaza. He has witnessed over three wars and severe aggression by Israeli forces
on the Palestinian people since the 1980s with a huge loss of life. He writes
and publishes to raise consciousness about the Palestinian cause.
I've witnessed in my life.
The night is so bleak
And the day is so pale
The earth shakes under our feet
And the sky is swamped with innocent flying souls.
But our faith is stalwart
Like the rooted mountains.
The sun will rise again
And the settlers will leave my stolen land.
The hideous and notorious occupation will end
And all free people around the world will celebrate
A new era of freedom
They'll gather in Palestine,
The flags will wave
And the sweets will be served.
"Gaza"
Here's Gaza,
Where hunger becomes a killer,
The buzzing drones become a chronic disease,
Coldness becomes a knife
In the heart of homeless,
The destruction becomes the witness on the crime.
No flour, no bread, no medicine, no children milk,
No fuel, no power, no hospitals, no schools,
No safety, nothing except death.
Gaza is starving,
Destroyed, punished, tortured every minute, hour, day.
It's not a war,
It's a collective execution to a whole land, an entire people and a complete life.
"Hope"
It's the darkest and heaviest daysI've witnessed in my life.
The night is so bleak
And the day is so pale
The earth shakes under our feet
And the sky is swamped with innocent flying souls.
But our faith is stalwart
Like the rooted mountains.
The sun will rise again
And the settlers will leave my stolen land.
The hideous and notorious occupation will end
And all free people around the world will celebrate
A new era of freedom
They'll gather in Palestine,
The flags will wave
And the sweets will be served.
Here's Gaza,
Where hunger becomes a killer,
The buzzing drones become a chronic disease,
Coldness becomes a knife
In the heart of homeless,
The destruction becomes the witness on the crime.
No flour, no bread, no medicine, no children milk,
No fuel, no power, no hospitals, no schools,
No safety, nothing except death.
Gaza is starving,
Destroyed, punished, tortured every minute, hour, day.
It's not a war,
It's a collective execution to a whole land, an entire people and a complete life.