Clench
If flying
fists of stone, once thrown,
could talk like bullets...*
Excerpt:
IV.
disorder
discord
anomaly
anarchy
disunion
confusion
you
are confused
muddled
mishmash
agitation
convolution
convulsion
melee
tumultuous
uproar
rumpus
revolution
we
are revolution
*Note: Unarmed Palestinians try to protect themselves by
throwing stones at the soldiers with machine guns. This poem was written from
the point of view of the stone that was thrown.
[For the full version of the poem, contact the author.]
Stones are often thrown
by unarmed Palestinian children. The children are throwing stones and pieces of
rubble from demolished homes for many reasons that are as personal as they are
political. Some perhaps do it in protest to their current situation, some may think
it will stop the sickening gas attacks, some do it as a way to honor those who
have died, and some out of frustration with occupation and oppression. No
matter what the personal or political reason, it takes courage to throw a stone
at an armored tank or a machine gun bearing soldier just as it takes courage to
fight for justice…and Palestinian children are born full of courage.
This
poem is not
just a series of words, but the words give voice to those who are
silenced by
others….and it is written from the perspective of the stone that was
thrown. In many religions, we are taught that our emotions and
thoughts go into our prayers. If our negative emotions can enter into
our
spiritual life, than it may also be true that those same emotions can
enter
into the natural world as energy. Building on this idea, it could be
that
before a stone is thrown it may have absorbed the energies of the one
who has
thrown it. The perspective of the stone that was thrown is explicated in
this
poem.
Some of the imagery
will bring the reader back to what it means to be human and part of larger
humanity. For example, as you clench your fist, it looks like a stone -- you can
throw it like a stone, like throwing a punch. The stone can symbolize the
extension of the human body. You also have to clench your fist around the stone
to throw it. So the stone itself is like
a clenched fist representing the fate of a displaced people. The stone, like a
fist, is very symbolic; it echoes the release of anger, grief, land, loss and
family.
There are four
parts to the poem. In each section the
stone is being thrown in a certain direction. The stone takes on the issues of
the person throwing it -- of being dislocated, being evicted, being made
homeless, becoming prey for the predator, and revolting against current
injustice to hope for change…for peace.
Ultimately, it is
not just a stone…it is the muted voice of an occupied people. In the poem, the
people do not have a voice but the stone does and it is given center stage to
speak to the reader. Stones are more than a cry for help, a plea for a brighter
future, or a symbol of courage and rebellion from oppression. The stones are
prayers, the prayers of children for a better and brighter future; a future
filled with hope. A future as of yet denied to them.
In order to
change their future, there needs to be a global revolution in everyone’s
thinking on every side of colonization, occupation and peace. For the colonizer
to free an occupied people, a change starting inside each one of us must reach
out with compassion, understanding and grace. We must start listening to the
prayers of children and learn from their wisdom.
