Clench

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.