Shahin Shabanian
July, 2014
Illustration
A Dedication to the Children of Palestine
I know you, child
I have seen your face full of fears
And your eyes full of tears.
Your fears are real as they were then:
When you were abused in ghettos of Europe,
And in the concentration camps, without a hope.
Gassed and burned in the ovens: a damned consternation,
The instigating brutes called it the “Final Solution.”
And, now, in the Palestine in chains:
Your mother and father, you see them slain
Your Sisters and brothers killed again
But the world forgotten its promise of “Never Again.”
Your body in a pool of blood lain
Mangled and made life to wane
By the brutes with criminal goals
I feel your despairs, you young souls.
Your eyes once shining and glowing
In prospect of a better life, no more.
Now, they are cold; lifeless, and gazing
At the sky, bereft of hope, once more.
Your land been stolen from you
Your water and food too
They said, “We treat them like dogs,
Until they pack and go.”
Your resistance and resilience show
That they are wrong, and they must know
You are entrenched to the ground below
In the land that you are born and you grow.
The “civilized nations” look away
From the crimes of occupation, they finance everyday
And our humanity, they betray
And while promoting supremacy and bigotry,
They celebrate profits and their murderous way.
I know you, child
I remember your face full of fears
And your eyes full of tears.
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