Today, I write freedom, I write grace, I write love...
- Independent Ink
- Oct 10
- 1 min read
After two years of genocide and mass enforced starvation, a poem penned as ceasefire was declared in Gaza.
By Samina Salim
Death, devastation, destruction; too much for too long.
Today I write hope, I write love, I write freedom.
Ashes, rubble, ruins; too much for too long.
Today I write rebuild, I write renew, I write freedom.
Smoke, fire, blaze; too dark for too long.
Today I write wind, I write breeze, I write freedom.
Damage, desolation, desperation; too much for too long.
Today I write dream, I write bloom, I write freedom.
Hunger, deprivation, starvation; too much for too long
Today I write dignity, I write grace, I write freedom
Hind in my heart, Refaat in my thoughts today Gaza owes you. The world owes you too.
And when the dawn breaks, soft and slow, it’s time to come home, to light the fire again
to pick up the pieces, to mend, to heal, to live again
Let the children play, their laughter in the air again.
Let classrooms hum, and markets stir with life,
Let walls rise where homes once fell.
Let olive trees bear witness to their return,
Let the birds sing freedom
And the sea remember their songs.
Today, and tomorrow, I write freedom.
Dr Samina Salim is Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacological & Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Houston, USA.
Courtesy countercurrents.org