Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Palestine
Palestine
PALESTINE
by Marvin X
(El Muhajir)
I am not an Arab, I am not a Jew
Abraham is not my father,
Palestine is not my home
But I would fight any man
Who kicked me out of my house
To dwell in a tent
I would fight
To the ends of the earth
Someone who said to me
I want your house
Because my father lived here
Two thousand years ago
I want your land
Because my father lived here
Two thousand years ago.
Jets would not stop me
From returning to my home
Uncle toms would not stop me
Cluster bombs would not stop me
Bullets I would defy.
No man can take the house of another
And expect to live in peace
There is no peace for thieves
There is no peace for those who murder
For myths and ancient rituals
Wail at the wall
Settle in "Judea" and "Samaria"
But fate awaits you
You will never sleep with peace
You will never walk without listening.
I shall cross the River Jordan
With Justice in my hand
I shall return to Jerusalem
And establish my house of peace,
Thus said the Lord.
This poem first appeared in Black Scholar Magazine, circa 1975.
© 1975 by Marvin X (El Muhajir)
The author, Marvin X, is an Oakland (CA) based African-American poet/playwright/activist, one of the founders of the Black Arts Movemen and the father of Muslim American literature, according to scholar Dr. Mohja Kahf. Bob Holman calls him the USA’s Rumi. Marvin X works as a lecturer, teacher and producer. He has taught at San Francisco State University, University of California -Berkeley and San Diego, Fresno State University, University of Nevada, Reno; Laney, Merritt and Mills College in Oakland. He has received writing fellowships from Columbia University and the National Endowment forthe Arts and planning grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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