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Palestine, I Am the Earth That Will Never Disappear
A Poem by Leni Marlina
On blood-soaked ground, I stand firm,
On ashes of homes built with tears,
Where dusk no longer brings peace,
And the sky cracks with the lightning of despair.
My wife, her gentle voice now swallowed in cries,
My children, a light dimmed by war's embrace,
They are not lost---they live in every blast,
And I? I am the storm that will never cease,
My bones unbroken, though bullets rain down.
My steps echo the earth's anguished roar,
I am not a man adrift in grief---
I am the ember burning in every drop of blood,
Piercing darkness, setting the skies aflame with resolve.
These eyes no longer merely see; they cut,
Staring at a world blind to our suffering,
Glaring sharp, seething with fire,
For I am this land, untouchable by any force.
The bullets that pierce my flesh are but wind,
I grow anew from every scattered piece,
Not to gather them but to reach higher,
Palestine, this land is me---and I am your lifeblood, immortal.
When bombs tear the heavens apart, I will not hide,
I am the wave that drowns the invader's ships,
In every explosion, I find new resolve,
Whispering to this ravaged earth, "I will not retreat; we will reclaim what is lost."
Padang, Sumbar, 2023
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We Are Shadows That Will Not Be Forgotten
