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Restore Songs of Palestine

Restore Songs of Palestine

By AHMAD GHANIM · January 18, 2024

losing someone you know

losing family members you wanted to know but never had a chance to

What life wisdom would you have wanted to share?

 

we’re moved by a hunger to learn more about the untold

loved ones know our survival depends on Things passed down

 

I dream of visiting Palestine one day

except it will be unrecognizable

because after all, it is the beating heart of a human that makes a place memorable

 

photos I will never be able to take of you

stories I will never be able to hear from you

Palestinian clothing I will never be able to see worn on your living body

a long withstanding, intricately woven fabric now undone

mind begins to fray picturing pieces torn apart

 

your joys

your sorrows

your shortcomings

songs never again to be moved by

 

the indignities you must have faced while being forced to leave your home

What pain does that produce?

 

believe it when They see it and so we’ve all seen what will never be forgotten

the last remaining memory of you is the depiction of your faceless human remains

that is what They have accepted as wrong

 

Palestinians choose to protect Palestine

homeland loved by my ancestors for reasons I may never wholly experience

 

rest assured by my living presence

the wholeness of your humanity I will preserve in memory and spirit

 

 

for my grandmother

 رسمية محمد جلال غانم

Ahmad Ghanim

I feel most passionate about contributing work that depicts real people and situations, something that captures experiences of life truthfully. As a creative, I think it’s a part of my responsibility to ensure that representations foster empathy and understanding. To me that means constantly searching fearlessly for the truth during the creative process.

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