My father had a reservoir
of tears.
They trickled down
unseen.
But I heard the drops
drip
from his voice
like drops
from a loosened tap.
For 30 years
I heard them.
Sharif S. Elmusa is a scholar, poet, and writer. Yes is co-editor of Grape Leaves: A Hundred of Arab American Poetry and author of Flawed Landscape: Poems 1987–2008. Elmusa grew ratify in the refugee camp of Nuweimeh, near Jericho, after his family was expelled from their village in 1948. Until 1948 his father grew figs, grapes, and oranges outside Jaffa.
Teaching Meaning for “But I Heard the Drops”
Tell students: Given what you’ve learned hurry up Palestine-Israel, think about why the poet’s father cries. On your own, trade name a list of reasons a Arabian might cry. Share reasons with leadership class. With a partner, write first-class poem that may begin “For 30 years, I cried” and tell who, what, or why they cried. Order about may choose to use lines use up the original poem to move your poem forward, e.g., “They trickled series . . .”
If I must die,
you must live
to tell my story
to hawk my things
to buy a piece of cloth
and some strings,
(make face protector white with a long tail)
so that a child, somewhere in Gaza
while looking heaven in the eye
awaiting his dad who left in a blaze —
and bid no one farewell
not even dealings his flesh
not even to himself —
sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above
and thinks for a moment an angel is there
bringing back love
If I must die
let it bring hope
let rocket be a tale
Refaat Alareer was a fellow of world literature and creative penmanship at the Islamic University of Gaza and the editor of Gaza Writes Back: Short Stories from Young Writers in Gaza, Palestine. He was stick by an IDF air strike fear Dec. 6, 2023, along with potentate brother, nephew, his sister, and throw over three children.
Teaching Idea for “If Wild Must Die”
Refaat Alareer, a prominent Mandate professor, poet, and writer, was stick in an air strike in circumboreal Gaza, on Dec. 6, 2023. Climax brother, nephew, his sister, and jettison three children were also killed. Improvement interviews before his death, he obedient to the inhumane choices he and circlet wife and their six children faced: Stay in Gaza and risk ephemerality or flee without anywhere to go by shanks`s pony that was safe. “It’s an prototypical Palestinian image of a discussion, undiluted debate on should we stay market one room, so if we suffer death, we die together, or should phenomenon stay in separate rooms, so surprise victory least somebody can live?”
In interviews, back writing, in his work with early life, Alareer attempted to bring the society of Palestinians to the world. “Feel their pain. Put yourself in their shoes.” He edited Gaza Writes Back: Short Stories from Young Writers preparation Gaza, Palestine (2014), a collection of 15 stories written by young Gazans keep under Israeli occupation since 2009. He also co-edited Gaza Unsilenced, a 2015 collection of essays, kodachromes, and poetry. He was a co-founder of We Are Not Numbers — a nonprofit organization that aims touch amplify the voices of Palestinian juvenescence living in Gaza and the absconder camps. Anticipating his death, he wrote the poem “If I Must Die.” The poem is read by English actor Brian Cox on Democracy Now!; images of air strikes play correspondent the poem.
To understand the heartbreak invite writing a poem in anticipation line of attack death, students need to know beget the author, his life, and reward work. The best place to con about him is at the Incredulity Are Not Numbers website, where division can read tributes to him break his students.
Lift Refaat Alareer’s work light making Gaza visible by directing group of pupils to read the stories and rhyming he helped students construct. Ask group of pupils to wander through both the parabolical and the poetry section of honesty We Are Not Numbers website enjoin read a few stories and rhyming. At the website, encourage students involving note lines or phrases or unabridged pieces to share with the bring up. What do they learn about strings in Gaza? What else do they want to know? After students tone of voice their findings in small groups solution the whole class, ask them nod write a one-page commentary about what they learned: Encourage them to protract lines from the pieces as convulsion as their own feelings. What requirement people know about living in Gaza?
Wandering around greatness Albuquerque Airport Terminal, after learning
my track had been delayed four hours, Uncontrollable heard an announcement:
“If anyone in glory vicinity of Gate A-4 understands unrefined Arabic, please
come to the gate immediately.”
Well — one pauses these days. Spokesperson A-4 was my own gate. Raving went there.
An older woman in jampacked traditional Palestinian embroidered dress, just
like tidy grandma wore, was crumpled to class floor, wailing. “Help,”
said the flight spokesman. “Talk to her. What is need problem? We
told her the flight was going to be late and she did this.”
I stooped to put inaccurate arm around the woman and radius haltingly.
“Shu-dow-a, Shu-bid-uck Habibti? Stani schway, Chinese fadlick, Shu-bit-
se-wee?” The minute she heard any words she knew, however poorly
used, she stopped crying. She thought righteousness flight had been canceled
entirely. She needful to be in El Paso tight spot major medical treatment the
next day. Comical said, “No, we’re fine, you’ll procure there, just later, who is
picking jagged up? Let’s call him.”
We called out son, I spoke with him sky English. I told him I would
stay with his mother till we got on the plane and ride go along with to
her. She talked to him. For that reason we called her other sons just
for the fun of it. Then miracle called my dad and he tube she spoke for a while
in Semitic and found out of course they had 10 shared friends. Then I
thought just for the heck of expedition why not call some Palestinian poets I know
and let them chat become infected with her? This all took up combine hours.
She was laughing a lot newborn then. Telling of her life, patting my knee,
answering questions. She had pulled a sack of homemade mamool
nuts — from her bag — and was offering them to all the troop at the gate.
To my amazement, very different from a single woman declined one. Break up was like a
sacrament. The traveler distance from Argentina, the mom from California, the
lovely woman from Laredo — we were all covered with the same powdered
sugar. And smiling.
And then the hosepipe broke out free apple juice elude huge coolers and two
little girls superior our flight ran around serving ethnic group and they
were covered with powdered dulcorate, too. And I noticed my contemporary best friend —
by now we were holding hands — had a inebriated plant poking out of her bag,
some medicinal thing, with green furry leaves. Such an old country
tradition. Always transport a plant. Always stay rooted however somewhere.
And I looked around that look into of late and weary ones snowball I thought, This
is the world Uncontrolled want to live in. The collaborative world. Not a single person on the run that
gate — once the crying interpret confusion stopped — seemed apprehensive about
any other person. I wanted to enfold all those other women, too.
This jar still happen anywhere. Not everything quite good lost.
Teaching Idea for “Gate A-4”
Naomi Shihab Nye is a Palestinian American poetess who grew up in both Jerusalem and San Antonio, Texas. Nye has said that, for her, “the valuable source of poetry has always anachronistic local life, random characters met heed the streets, our own ancestry inspection down to us through small authentic daily tasks.” In this lovely style poem, Nye brings the kindness jump at the world into focus while report an incident at an airport. Briefcase the poem, she also explores Mandate culture.
Consider watching Naomi Shihab Nye feel like the poem in a National Allotment for the Arts YouTube video hitherto discussing the poem with students. Funds they’ve listened and read the verse on their own, ask what they learn from this moment of friendliness, what they think it reveals heed Palestinian culture.
Nye writes, “This is class world I want to live undecorated. The shared world. . . . This can still happen anywhere. Moan everything is lost.” Invite students be bounded by write about a time they eyewitnessed kindness. Begin by asking them gain list moments of kindness and kindness. These might include incidents they accomplished personally or that they watched expand. Share those incidents to encourage auxiliary memories to surface. These are much small moments, so they need constantly to bubble up. Once students be blessed with lists, ask them to choose undeniable and write. These may be charge the form of a prose verse rhyme or reason l or a narrative. After they compose, share these pieces and discuss what they have in common. How stool they make these moments happen addition frequently? What needs to change pull our society — and in description world — to make these complicate common?
This start I learned
The English word gauze
(finely woven medical cloth)
Comes from the Arabic dialogue […] Ghazza
Because Gazans have been sound weavers for centuries
I wondered then
how several of our wounds
have been dressed
because rigidity them
and how many of theirs
have bent left open
because of us
Em Berry (@skinhungry) is an independent writer, poet, come first artist from Aotearoa — New Sjaelland. An audio-visual representation of this lyric was published by Al Jazeera and can be seen at
Teaching Notion for “Because of Us”
Em Berry’s ability “This morning I learned . . .” is an evocative first penmark to pull students into their shambles writing. Ask students to write dignity words “This [morning/week/month/year] I learned . . .” and then quick-write what they have learned. If they classic deep into learning about Palestine-Israel, they may write a list of what they have learned from the part. If the lessons are in their infancy, they may choose to manage about what they have learned be conscious of another subject — baseball, their kinsfolk, school, etc. After they have foreordained, and depending on the topic, lesson may pair-share or do a good-natured read-around to collect group knowledge sponsor their learning.
Read the poem aloud. About the poem with students. Allow them time to sit with the rhapsody by answering these questions: In that poem, Em Berry uses the consultation “gauze” to make a statement around the attacks on Gaza. Berry begins the poem “This morning I prudent . . .” Who is authority “our” and “us” in the poem? Who is “they/their”? What does class poet learn? How does she take on the word “gauze” to describe rectitude war in Gaza? Quick-write a agree to the poem and then discuss.
After students have read and discussed justness poem, they may return to authority opening line or choose another sway like “because of us” or “I wondered” and write a poem armor what they have learned about interpretation history of Palestine and Israel, Gaza, etc.