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My savage rites.
I cut the stupid customs from the roots
I spit my hate, my shame
Into the faces of the devout, the holy ones
I kick the garbage of my defeat and
my humility
Into the face of the dervishes—
The barking half men—the office
holders

From the depth of my Hell
My voice prevails:
I condemn you to death
You, the mud, stuck on the sole of my
Great history

Samih Al Kasim

VICTIM #18*

The olive trees were once green
They once were . . . and the sky was
a blue forest; it once was, my beloved.
What changed it that night?

Quietly, they stopped the labourer’s
truck
at the curve of the road;
Quietly, they turned us to the East.

Nest of my beloved,
My heart was once a blue sparrow;


*This poem was written in commemoration of the Israeli massacre at Kufr Kasim in October 1956. In response to Nasser's nationalization of the Suez Canal, Israel, Britain and France attacked Egypt. During the first day of the campaign, Israel imposed a curfew on all Arabs living in Israel. Fifty Arab workers including women and children who were in the fields working did not know of the curfew. On their way home that evening, they were stopped by Israeli soldiers, and taken to nearby woods, where they were all machine gunned within one hour.

After the Suez campaign Lieutenant Joubrael Dahg, who was responsible for the killings, was given the post of 'Officer responsible for Arab affairs' in the town of Rama.

Transcription Notes:
---------- Reopened for Editing 2024-02-21 09:15:19