FOR LITTLE SIWAR JAMASI

Siwar Al-Jamasi, a 6 year-old victim of zionist genocide.

For Siwar Jamasi

she is small-limbed
not more than eight years old
but
she fills every inch
of an old pink velvet armchair
with the confidence
of a family’s beloved child
photographed proudly
in the midst of bombs
and genocide

her frail legs are crossed
as the armchair holds her
in her multicolored clothes
and
the gleam in her eyes
has forgotten
the grayness of the rubble
behind

it is only
if we bother to read
the caption
that we find out
that her name is Siwar
and that
struck today
by an israeli plane –
maybe within seconds
of the click capturing
her beaming smile –
she died

WHAT DO YOU WANT TO EAT?

her name is Yasmine
she shows four fingers
to say she is four years old

when asked what she is doing
she says
she is sitting and relaxing

behind her
is the rubble –
her playground

when asked what she wants to eat
since her mother did not wake her
for breakfast
she says :
” wild thyme`”

DO NOT BE AFRAID

to Vijay Prashad, Amilcar Cabral and the Association of Sahel States

how far back
into defeat
must the achievements
of our history
rewind?

how far back
can the clock
of victory
unwind?

how do we stop
the cycle
of encountering
backlash
each time?

could we have stopped
Reconstruction
from
becoming Jim Crow?

could we have stopped
Black Lives Matter
from ushering in
Emperor Trump?

Could we have saved
Patrice Lumumba
from being reduced
to a gold tooth?

how do we stop
the crazy spinning of the
imperial toy?

Your reply :

do not be afraid
to win

do not be afraid
of the heavy responsibilities of victory
and the dialectics
of keeping the People alive

do not be afraid
to be a liberation movement
in power

do not be afraid
to support
the liberation movements
in power
while it is still time

Fighting Words

Journal of the Communist Workers league

FOR LITTLE SIWAR JAMASI | WHAT DO YOU WANT TO EAT? | DO NOT BE AFRAID

Poems by renowned Black leader and activist Julia Wright