To Alan Johnston: Fantastic to be Free

To Alan Johnston:
Fantastic to be Free!

Congratulations!
You are free, again.
You were born free
And now you are reborn;
It is a sort of resurrection.
Your “life” was suspended
Between two deadly brackets
For four extended months
With longer nights and days
Between hope and despair
And now, let there be free celebrations...
Then after that you may compare:
Whole nations are still kidnapped
And jailed in the so-called Middle East
By Great Britain, Greater US and Greatest Israel
For 90 years!
We have seen more than what you have seen
Since Lord Balfour’s Declaration of Nineteen seventeen
Followed by the creation of a strange state in Palestine
Followed by US invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan
Followed by the continued so-called war on terror
Followed by naming the resisting victims: terrorists
Then followed by deleting the “Arab world” by a beast
To insert a meaningless “New Middle East”!
A name without identity
But all that does not justify kidnapping you
All that does justify our struggle for freedom
Freedom, not the American way
Freedom, Not the British way
Freedom, Not the Zionist way
Freedom, our way
Free from their invasion, occupation and oppression
Free From wars and injustice
For you, it is fantastic to be free,
For us, it is the same
The same old question:
To be or not to be!
Congratulations on being set free
And soon, I hope soon
You will owe me
Congratulations!
__________________________________________
Majeed Al-Barghouthi
http://majeedbarghouthi.net/Majeedweb/default.htm
4 July 2007

Who is Mr. Martins?
Or: An English Professor from Wales

You do not know who Mr. Martins is;
But you will; as this is not a quiz.
“When your homeland is occupied
Your first human right is to fight; so, fight!”
Those words are his’
Ringing inside and outside the class;

Mr. Martins is a real English professor,
Teaching us English Literature,
But he comments on any world event
Explaining what he exactly meant
His red beard and blue eyes do not colour his pure voice;
When he talks with us on universal grass.

In Arabic, “literature” has many connotations:
Politeness, good manners and moral interpretations,
In addition to literary writings
And “English” to us means many things:
Lord Balfour’s Declaration and Lord Byron,
Battles and British mandate and romance!

“When your homeland is occupied
Your first human right is to fight; so, fight!”
It doesn’t matter who the invaders are:
Moguls, Romans, Yankees
British, French, Zionists or Nazis
The quoted words are his’
And others are echoes of his free stance

When I want to make both words look right
“English” and “Literature” shall read under a new light:
Mr. Martins,
Mr. Martins,
The English professor from Wales,
That you now recognize at a glance
_______________________
Majeed Al-Barghouthi
http://majeedbarghouthi.net/Majeedweb/default.htm