Edward Morin

PALESTINIAN HOMELAND

[Sung to the tune of “Va Pensiero”
from Giuseppe Verde’s opera Nabucco]

Oh, my thoughts arise on golden wings,
And they rest upon the cliffs and hills,
Where the sweet aroma of olive trees
Scents the breezes in my native land.

Greet the banks of the Jordan River,
See the ruins where we used to live.
Oh my homeland so comely and stolen!
Remembrances so painful and dear.

Legendary oud, why are you hanging
In dead silence from the willow tree?
Fill our hearts with those cherished stories
That remind us of the time that was.

As Jeremiah proclaimed to the people,
Draw out sounds of harsh lamenting cries;
Let’s build solidarity, Insha’Allah,
To preserve and defend our home,
To preserve and defend our home,
To preserve and defend our home,
to defend our home.

Copyright  c 2016 by Edward Morin

Edward Morin is from Chicago and lives in Ann Arbor. His poems have appeared in Hudson Review, Ploughshares, and Prairie Schooner.  His collections of poetry include Labor Day at Walden Pond, The Dust of Our City and a chapbook titled Housing for Wrens, which Cervena Barva Press will publish in 2016.  His co-translations of Arabic and Chinese poems have appeared in Iowa Review, Michigan Quarterly Review, and Asymptote. He edited and co-translated The Red Azalea: Chinese Poetry since the Cultural Revolution.  He edits the journal  Peninsula Poets and co-hosts the Crazy Wisdom Poetry Series of workshops and readings in Ann Arbor.