Shalom Miri, such a painful time for us as onlookers - imagining what it must be be like for you with your whakapapa. And for those in Gaza - all words fall millions of miles short, but our voices are often all we have. Thanks for you insight. Alofa xx
💔 this poem is so powerful - thanks for sharing the backstory. I am a Jew and I can't write a poem about Gaza without getting accused of being antisemitic either, which is a truly bizarre experience. I did write this around the time of the 2014 siege but I'm not sure it works. I was (unsuccessfully) trying to learn some Hebrew at the time, thinking a lot about the 'right to return' and watching all the brutality on the news. Came to the conclusion that if a Palestinian refugee doesn't have the right to return then certainly I don't - my ancestors haven't lived there for thousands of years.
- - -
Jerusalem Letters
Every Hebrew noun
is either masculine or feminine.
Eretz, the word for land, is feminine.
Bayit, the word for house, is masculine.
Emet, the word for truth, is feminine
and davar, the word for thing, is masculine.
Milchamah, the word for war, is feminine.
The words for family, blessing, and people
are all feminine.
Most names of streets, cities and countries are feminine.
Shalom Miri, such a painful time for us as onlookers - imagining what it must be be like for you with your whakapapa. And for those in Gaza - all words fall millions of miles short, but our voices are often all we have. Thanks for you insight. Alofa xx
💔 this poem is so powerful - thanks for sharing the backstory. I am a Jew and I can't write a poem about Gaza without getting accused of being antisemitic either, which is a truly bizarre experience. I did write this around the time of the 2014 siege but I'm not sure it works. I was (unsuccessfully) trying to learn some Hebrew at the time, thinking a lot about the 'right to return' and watching all the brutality on the news. Came to the conclusion that if a Palestinian refugee doesn't have the right to return then certainly I don't - my ancestors haven't lived there for thousands of years.
- - -
Jerusalem Letters
Every Hebrew noun
is either masculine or feminine.
Eretz, the word for land, is feminine.
Bayit, the word for house, is masculine.
Emet, the word for truth, is feminine
and davar, the word for thing, is masculine.
Milchamah, the word for war, is feminine.
The words for family, blessing, and people
are all feminine.
Most names of streets, cities and countries are feminine.
Jerusalem, Gaza, and Israel are all feminine.
In Hebrew, every verb
must agree with the gender of its subject.
Dear Israel
This is just to remind you
the words for mother
are em and imah.
I can't find your word
for mothering/to mother
but you could still do it
if you wanted to.
See you then
or not at all.
Sincerely
etc
Miriam
Thank you for your insightful and heart-rending post.