Not long ago I took part in a workshop in London that was jointly organized by young Palestinians and Israeli, and discussed prospects for a just peace, emphasizing the imperative of ending ‘the occupation.’ At about the same time I experienced the radiant energy of the young occupiers at Wall Street and near St Paul’s Cathedral. Several months ago I was in Cairo not long after Mubarak left power, and visited Tahrir Square still alive with its memories of occupation by the protesters. Occupation became a word of many resonances, both favorable and heinous, and this poem tries to acknowledge this interplay of feelings of solidarity and alienation. Perhaps, it is too personal to be sharable.
*********
Reflections on Two Occupations
To live to love
is to occupy
to be
occupied
By whom with whom
Occupy/ing
Tahrir Square
Wall Street
St Paul’s Cathedral
the world
To hope to dream
to act
is
to
occupy
By whom for whom
To fear to hide
to resist
is to be
(pre)occupied
from within
from without
It was once your land
I entered your land
picking olives
settling there
Buying occupying
Above all remembering
another distant tale
Filled with tears and dying
my land
my law
my birthright
And now ours to keep:
history forgives
what is stolen if time passes quietly
Long ago now
I did ask you to leave
in a polite voice
then a raised voice
then a scream
then no voice at all
to go get out
All I wanted then was for birds
to sing some old songs
All I wanted was for flowers
to bend toward home
And now I declare
to myself to you
to the world
this occupation will end:
The graves
already full
as dawn
splits
the Jerusalem sky in two
What is occupied with love lives
What is occupied with force kills
before it dies and lives again
elsewhere
I never wanted this earth scorched
moist with
native blood
amid the ruins
I fight resist pray
XI/22/2011
Global Justice in the 21st Century 