Poetry Please

 

The other day I was doing a very short session with Haneen Jadalla's drama group at Asma Prep B Girls UNRWA school Gaza when Haneen suddenly announced that two students would like to perform a poem to me.I love it when these kind of impromptu things happen in the sessions and what a great poem it was - by the Palestinian poet, Mahmoud Darwish.Here's the text of it.

Think of others - Mahmoud Darwish (1941 - 2008) 

As you prepare your breakfast, think of others(do not forget the pigeon’s food).

As you conduct your wars, think of others (do not forget those who seek peace).

As you pay your water bill, think of others (those who are nursed by clouds).

As you return home, to your home, think of others (do not forget the people of the camps).

As you sleep and count the stars, think of others (those who have nowhere to sleep).

As you liberate yourself in metaphor, think of others (those who have lost the right to speak).

As you think of others far away, think of yourself (say: “If only I were a candle in the dark”).

And here's the video of Basma Enaya and Doaa Abu Shanab performing the poem. I've set up a new youtube playlist just for poetry so please send us your videos of poems performed by young people and we'll add them.