Palestinian poet Yahya Ashour sees sarcasm as a way to ridicule war, or oneself, or even mundane occurrences. He redefines loss and shows how an ordinary scene, which many might overlook, can hold within it a thousand truths:
"As the spectacle begins with a rocket's fiery flight,
My mother hastens to my room in the dead of night:
"Open your window just a sliver, my dear,"
But she doesn't know, and I've never made it clear,
My window, the sole survivor in our dwelling so tight,
Untouched, unbroken, through each dark plight.
Yet this time, my mother didn't come near,
And I left my window, sealed, without a fear."
Total isolation
In another verse, Yahya invokes the economic, social, and political siege on Gaza, highlighting the complete isolation that often befalls its people and its streets.
However, a glimpse of modernity connects it to the world. Technology emerges as a wrench to break the manacles of this desolate land, even amidst recurring conflicts.
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The poet, in his own voice, ultimately provides a solution for Gaza's predicament:
"May the world unbind our online ties,
Or else, release our besieged cries.
I yearn for the world's relief from our strife,
Far more than our respite from life's endless fife."
Neutrality
Throughout history, the aeroplane appears like a dream – a source of enchantment and boundless possibilities. Yet, in the life of a Palestinian, particularly in the besieged heart of Gaza, it's unsettling.
It ceases to symbolise freedom. Instead, it serves as a harbinger of death, leaving scars in the form of shattered homes, the wails of children, and the heavy toll of immeasurable loss.
Indeed, the plane is far from hopeful, or even neutral; it's a messenger of doom.
Poet Mona AlMsaddar, in her introspective verses, questions whether the human mind can ever untangle itself from the indelible image that haunts Gaza's collective psyche. She meticulously dissects ideas and then carefully reassembles them, constructing a new reality.
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This alternative existence, set apart from the war-ravaged scenery of Gaza, offers a life free from the tumult of conflict, the rubble of destruction, and the deeply felt marks of tragedy:
"What separates life from survival, except the canopy above?
Is it the shelter for your soul or a new sky?
Do foreign shores harbour distinct horizons?
Do the keys to existence alter their form?
Or does the night merely become clearer and more vibrant?
Shall we redefine the aeroplane as a transparent mode of travel?
Or shall we etch it into our souls, forever visiting the heavens?
Only to realize in time, it carries souls much like ours,
Yet with far fewer war-torn memories!"