“A desolate country whose soil is rich enough, but is given over wholly to weeds… a
silent mournful expanse…. a desolation….” – this is of Palestine by Mark Twain, from his
book The Innocents Abroad, written in 1869.
Dear Mr. …
Since 1968
My father worries I’ll be captured
on photo1 or video and remembered fondly2
by a state3 or drones or the collection of generals and agents4
who can and who may one day seek to snatch me…
I wasn’t there
when my grandparents
were shuffled, guns to their backs,
into a catastrophe they wouldn’t see the end of.
I wasn’t there
when my father held
a handgun to his temple & pulled
the trigger, loosing …
The Land was Eden, and I was Eve
And the forbidden fruit hung there,
like a seductive sin
a godless crime
and an unforgivable wish
I heard the snake hissing in my ear,
“Leave,
Go and live
a better life.”…
“Songs of the Sunbirds” cover art by Tamara Al-Barq
“Auntie Arwa’s Palestinian Mini Cookbook” by Arwa Ghannam
“Teta’s Mane’eesh Recipe” by Noor V. Aerbay
“To the Cousin from Yaffa” by Yara Ghabayen
“Settler Colonialism in the Heart of …
This video was shot while visiting Palestinian cities, towns, and camps, where I witnessed both the beauty of Palestine and the violations done by the Israeli occupation.
Music by Shalabi Younis and Ghazal Ghrayeb
My name is Nagham Ayyad, and
nonfiction/essays, Songs of the Sunbirds by Hasheemah Afaneh
When the outside world got real quiet at the start of the pandemic in 2020, the birds came out in the city. It was the morning when I heard the birds chirping outside my window that I noticed how quiet …