Poets Against War continues the tradition of socially engaged poetry by creating venues for poetry as a voice against war, tyranny and oppression.
Rewa Zeinati
30 years old
Emerging poet/originally Lebanese/moved to the U.S. in 2002. Working as a freelance editor and tutor.
Gaza 2008
Her sisters and neighbors hold hands Dance around her, Barbed wires marking their footsteps. Her sisters and neighbors clap and holler, Skin and bones smearing the roads. The spoiled daughter must remain, No one touch the spoiled daughter! They chant with breaths stinking Of murder, They dance and dance around Gaza, Leaking demise and crime.
Fireworks for celebration A lord is born again this December Fireworks for celebration Black circles swell the eyes, Long black gowns undress The city, While the bullets Scream Allaho Akbar And the bullets scream Shalom And the bullets scream I don’t care about all this religion, And I have no idea where to begin.
Naked hands come together in prayer Naked hands wrapped around their ears Drag the kids from their Sleep, from their arms, From their feet, To a bloated hospital cradle A miniature cot for a whole family From coffin to coffin This is the way we win.
A thousand act play drags on for decades The audience remains untouched The audience remains unmoved Seated in velvet chairs Cigars and kisses on their lips, And as long as their tongues sing Maimed bodies The final act will never come.
Heavy
(Gaza 2009, day 13)
A child’s head rests on the rubble Body-less, Hair plastered on her face, eyes closed, Dreaming of peace that comes too late.
