“Earth, be not proud”: Three poems by Raneen al-Azzazi

Home or There

Home or there. How do I stay
Here in my land? I trace
My way out, but I cannot plan
My thoughts fight my mind
Obscuring the possibility of leaving
Where the yellow sun hardly
shines. The bulldozer proud
as it unroots grounds. Birds no longer
encircle the found. Explosions
Drown their sounds. There
Is where the sun clearly
multiplies the sky and yet never
Glistens beyond the pain
Of Home or there.

Lion

He walks slowly on the ground
roars to frighten whoever is around
caging a gazelle in his mouth.
Tearing her body up like a knife
A glow of candle in his eyes
King of the forest, the forest is his
The sand and sunlight ascend
around him like fire
His voice reflecting power
What a strong heart you have
I am stunned he became old
weak and tired
Like ashes after fire
His body scattered around
surrounded by the animals of his grounds.

Earth, be not proud

Earth, be not proud
The huge mountains stand
On your ground
Mighty power. The wide sky
Spreads out grace
Competing with the vastness
Of your lands

But earth, be not proud
The ending moment always
arrives. As the sky falls
The moon will divide and the stars
will scatter the clouds
Mountain tops escaping
the sky line render

the earth with all its violence
and destruction
For that, earth be not proud.

Raneen al-Azzazi is a poet, content writer, and translator from the Gaza Strip. Her work appears in the Gaza Poets Society’s anthology My Death is Not a Song for You to Sing.

Artwork by Sohail Salem.