The land should yield
Pomegranates, melons, olives,
Fragrant jasmine, dates,
Not smashed buildings, broken bodies,
A child’s body flung against a fence,
A grandfather holding his granddaughter 
Dead in his arms.

Bread should be shared 
Enough bread for everyone 
Dripping with olive oil and baba ghanoush 
Not withheld from starving people 
Dying for the lack of it.
Hungry, desperate people 
Giving their last bread to a child.

Eyes should see tenderness 
The kindness of the everyday 
Moments of joy, a child playing in the rain 
Not fleeing from bombs 
That have crushed everything 
They’ve ever known, killed their families 
crushed their hopes and dreams 

Poets, children, doctors,
Artists, writers, musicians 
All should be alive, sending tendrils of joy 
And hope twining through the walls,
Breaking down the fear and suspicion 
Not crushed, silenced, lost
Beneath the rubble of broken buildings.

Standing together, 
The two peoples might live in peace 
Seeing each other as human,
Sharing stories, baking and breaking
bread together,
All they want, all anyone wants 
Is for their children to play in peace,
To love and live and know joy.

---

Yvonne Aburrow
1 March 2024, 7:25 AM

Photo: Olive picking during Zaytoun’s tenth harvest in Palestine.
https://zaytoun.uk/about/