How Can I Write a Poem for Gaza’s Children?
When white men or women,
especially Christians,
raise their voice for the people of Gaza
or for the Palestinians,
they are usually praised for the act
and are treated with respect.
When non-white men or women,
especially Muslims,
do the same thing,
they are often treated as suspects
and even antisemites,
and sometimes put under surveillance.
With a Muslim name and a brown complexion,
and an immigrant’s desire for settling in your den,
oh, Mr Chieftain,
how can I save myself from your suspicion,|and can still write a poem for Gaza’s children?
A Complex Calculation
Does every bomb that explodes in Gaza,
every bullet shot,
carry the curse of Karbala?
I’m not here to judge that.
Who am I to decide what’s right and what’s wrong?
I’m only trying to understand
a complex calculation.
I tried to feel the pain and anger of an Israeli father
who lost his daughter on October seven.
I felt his pain,
which’s as deep as Challenger Deep,
and his anger,
as ravaging as a superstorm.
Then I tried to feel the pain of a parent of Gaza,
but I didn’t know
how many Gaza’s children to compare with
one Israeli child.
Gaza is Not a City
Gaza is not a city;
it is a graveyard
and those who live there
are ghosts.
I don’t know what kind of fools
cry for the death of ghosts
or for those already dead.
If we must cry,
we should cry only for those
whose lives matter.
Whose lives matter
is not a matter of empty slogan;
it must be decided by those
who decide the fate of Palestinians.
The Prospect of Peace
I love peace,
especially like those
who supply the peacemakers
with arms and ammunition.
So, when the last hospital in Gaza was grounded,
I was thinking of congratulating
the angels of peace
for accomplishing such a great fit.
It’ll surely add to their
extraordinary credentials
and the unparalleled legacies.
The posterity will surely give a pause
in memory of the apostles of peace,
for indeed peace will only come
if all the Palestinians are exterminated.
Greta and Gaza
Greta was great
as long as she talked
only about climate change.
Has her popularity declined
after expressing her support
for free Palestine,
protesting the killing in Gaza,
while marching in Milan,
wearing a keffiyeh?
Shouldn’t climate change activists
be only concerned about ecocide?
Greta should’ve protested
only the collateral damage
causing the destruction of Gaza’s trees
or the contamination of air and water
or the deaths of birds and animals.
She should not have
protested the killings of humans,
for they’re only Palestinians.
Rakibul Hasan Khan is a Bangladeshi poet and academic based in Dunedin, New Zealand, where he is at the moment a visiting scholar in English at the University of Otago. He can be reached at [email protected].
