Palestinian Girl
Jehad Asadi
Daughter of the holy promise
Descendant of love and peace
The blossom of outer lands
The mother of singers, poets,
Lovers, destitutes, voyagers
The child of hope and suffering.
They banished your infancy with
Their blind guns
They journeyed You to dry
Hungry teeth
They exiled your heavenly
Laughter to the beast
They perished your happiness
With their greed
They employed your innocent
Eyes with their lust
They weakened your spirit
With apathy and hate
They cruded your angel face
With terror and thirst
They chewed your hope
With erosion and fear
Now they’ll harrow your
Entity with their claws
And suck your blood to write
More lines to their wolves
Daughter of grace and sun!
Your vision will remain in
The eyes of those who see
Your endless tune will dwell in
The ears of those who listen
Your smile will lighten
The hearts of those who read
For you are the descendant
of Piety
The dove of the homeless
Dreamers
The Triumph to our haunted
shores.
29 February 1984
Niña palestina
Traducción de Yasmín Rojas Pérez
Hija de la promesa sagrada
descendiente del amor y de la paz
la flor de las tierras exteriores
la madre de cantores, poetas,
amantes, desposeídos, viajeros
la criatura de la esperanza y el sufrimiento.
Desterraron tu infancia con
sus armas ciegas
te llevaron hacia dientes
secos y hambrientos
Exiliaron tu risa celeste
hacia la bestia
perecieron tu felicidad
con su codicia
Emplearon tus ojos inocentes
con su lujuria
debilitaron tu espíritu
con apatía y odio
Encrudecieron tu rostro de ángel
con terror y sed
masticaron tu esperanza
con erosión y miedo
ahora rastrillarán tu
entidad con sus garras
y chuparán tu sangre para escribir
más versos para sus lobos
¡Hija de la gracia y del sol!
tu visión permanecerá en
los ojos de quienes ven
Tu melodía infinita habitará en
los oídos de quienes escuchan
Tu sonrisa aligerará
los corazones de quienes leen
Porque eres la descendiente
de la Piedad
La paloma de los soñadores
sin hogar
El Triunfo hacia nuestras costas
embrujadas.
29 de febrero de 1984
Jehad Asadi
was born in Safad, Palestine, in 1948. When he was just eight days old, his village was invaded by the Israeli army, and his family fled to Syria and later to Kuwait. Jehad spent his adolescence and young adulthood studying and teaching English literature. In 1990, he was forced to flee one last time during the Gulf War, eventually settling in California. Today, Jehad is a proud grandfather and lives in Arizona, with a desert tortoise.
