THE STRUGGLE:

An Anthology ofEcphrasis Poetry About the

STRUGGLE:

Ecphrasis Poetry About theIsrael-Palestine Conflict

The Class of 2012

Newtown Friends School

IntroductionIntroduction

E h i i th i id d i ti f thi ll Ecphrasis is the vivid description of something, usually a work of art. This style of poetry originated in Ancient Greece. The most commonly cited example is Homer’s vivid description of the shield of Achilles in The Iliad.

Modern poets use ecphrasis to interpret and speak to paintings, drawings, photographs and other art forms.Ecphrasis allows poets and readers to empathize with human suffering, and is thus the perfect genre for the Israel-suffering, and is thus the perfect genre for the IsraelPalestine conflict which has brought pain to so many.

As part of a broader unit of study on human rights, sixth graders at Newtown Friends School studied the history of g y fthis conflict and its impact on children. Each student chose a photograph and wrote an original ecphrasis poem. The views expressed in their poems aren’t necessarily their own, as some chose to take on a different perspective.

- Kristen Sanchez -

“Peace is about the simple things and not being greedy.”

“I sometimes don’t recognize how lucky I am.” Cl

~ Sam ~

~ Cleo ~

“Peace does not come easily.” Al d

“Peace should be cherished more.” T l M

~ Alessandra ~

~ Tyler M. ~

“Peace is a product of living a happy life without poverty.” Ben ~ Ben ~

“I can spread peace by not using violence to solve problems.”~ Ty B ~

“I can spread peace by doing kind things for others.”~ Harrison ~

~ Ty B. ~

~ Harrison ~

When I look at you,

I see hope.

When I look at your life,

I see depressing days.

I’m sorry you witness death everyday

I wish I could make this all

happen to just the suicide bomber.

I feel terrible that you’re the one,

making the statement about your life.

When will you be able to live like a normal kid?

Play outside

Have fun

F l fFeel free

And not be,

a stuck solider

inside a box.

That sling shot

The little force it hasThe little force it has

And yet you still have the guts

To fight against

The powerful,

Forceful gun

That can kill you withy

1 shot.

I feel sad that an innocent kid like you has to suffer

because of other people’s problems.

A BELIEVERBY LUKEBY LUKE

As you stare into the flameA message is whispered into your earFrom G-d it shall be“Evil is not the path to heaven”

By: Ariele

As the flame flickers on You open your eyes And stare deeply into the flameG-d whispers again“Evil is not the path to heaven”

Even thought your train of thought is minuteG-d is reaching out to you by the power Of the flame“Evil is not the path to Heaven”

You are lost in timeAs you stare into the flameTo you, the world is frozenAnd will never unfreezeUntil you’re back in time… y

When I look at you staring into that flamethe same message is whisperedto me

So when I think of you this message comesto mind“Evil is not the path to Heaven”Evil is not the path to Heaven

A N HA New HomeBy Tyler

We wait and waitT t t hTo get to our new homeI stare out the windowScared and helplessI wonder what it will be like when we get thereFinally we are thereyAs we hear the train come to a stopWe feel a sense of reliefThe Holocaust is overWe are aliveWe look aroundWe look aroundKnowing we are now safeAnd we can live our lives in peace and harmonyNow our religion does not count against us

Crying Little Jewish BoyI’m scared, too little to know exactly what’s going on Maybe it’s better that wayI gaze up into my father’s dark brown eyes; there is fear,The fear of losing his son

My ears ring People are screaming with sorrow and worry in their voicesUnable to move to watch my surroundings My heart beats faster and fasterMy heart beats faster and fasterI am covered in small burns and smoke Barely lingers in my lungs

Why did this happen to my familyWe didn’t do anything wrongI feel weaker then I have ever felt beforeI am not sure how long I how will keep breathingBut I knowI am too young to die I am too young to die

By Isabel

Dear Palestinian refugees,

I wish you could go back to your landI wish you could go back to your land.

The place where you grew up,

And called your home.

But now it’s gone,

And you will have to find a new land.

As you stagger,As you stagger,

Grasping each other’s hands,

Horrified that your home is gone

As you try to find,

A new place to call your own

A place where there’s no fear.

Does it Always Have to Happen?B HBy Harrison

I am a young boyI just get in the way sometimes

I get in the way a lotThis time I wasn’t getting in the way

I was the targetI am Palestinian.

But I need some help nowBut I need some help now,More than ever

I am dyingAnd there is nothing I can do

To stop itThis is a time of war,,A time of hatredAnd it is a time of,

death

In other countries,There are no wars about territories

Or where people can live,So why do we have that here,

Where I am dyingWhere my family has diedWhere many have died

We all need helpWe all need help

A Scared Face

By

Hunter

I see youA scared face

Holding the gun up with all your might

I see

I can smell

The sand 

All across your land

I see A scared face

Trying to seem tough

I hearPeople chanting

I can smell

The sweat

On your face

eop e c a t gYelling

I hear Your breath

Your heart beat fast

I can taste

Your longing for a country

Something of your own

I can taste

I can touchYour face

Knowing it won’t do anything

I can touch

I can taste

The fear on your face

I can wish 

This would all go away with a storm

I can touchYour hands 

Ask you not to do thisHope it would make a difference

I can wish

This weren’t true

One Rock By: Sasha

My sun, my star, my life

Will never again awaken

Hi w m loving eye will not hineHis warm, loving eyes will not shine,Like they used to

Now they are closedAnd never will open

His red cheeks full of lifeNow pale, and cold

LifelessLifeless

One rock is all it took

To take away his life

My child was standing upFor his land

For me

Yet punished

One time he threw a rock

Just once

Why did you have to son?

Why liveWhy liveIf you hate life

Why cryIf it’s foolish

Why waitIf nothing pleasant is waiting

Just sadness and darknessJust sadness and darknessOvercoming me

A punishment

For what

Throwing that one rock

But now,It doesn’t matter anymore

His lifeWashed away

Him lying in Cold, hard darkness

With nothing

My lightHe’s gone forever

My lifeWill never move again

Because of that one rock.

I see a world of hatred,People lying dead,

S f bl d f lli f h i hStreams of blood falling from their mouths,And oceans of blood surrounding them.

I smell a world of violence,The smell of burning rubber

And flesh.I hear,

The screams of women,Protecting theirProtecting theirChildren ,And

People screaming and running from their enemies

Foot Prints

enemies.I also hear the scream of my mother,After we got the news about my brother.

I feel frightened,hi k i h i h

ByChristopher

I think I might rip out my heart.I am angry

He fought for all of the right reasons,Only if I were there.

Even though I am smaller,I would have protected him.

now it is my turn,To fill in his footsteps,To fill in his footsteps,He left behind.

FriendFriendBy Marie-Louise

FriendCome backWhy can’t you come back to the world in which you belong?Come back to the world when we were littleAnd we used to run from street to street barefootKicking the black and white soccer ball until it deflatedWhere a bead of sweat trickled off the tip of my noseI wish you would come back to the days when we would look up to the sweltering sun gAnd scream, “Please go away! It is too hot for us to play!”Then my grandmother would burst out of the front doorAnd tell us to be quiet before Uncle came home and got upsetBut now it’s overThere are no memories of those daysThere are no memories of those daysIn that worldIt’s all gone nowWhere are you now?I miss youi dFriend

GoneBy Emma

Back thereis my only family

my lifemy heart

I need to see himi

By Emma

One more timeHow can you drag me away,

from everythingI ever had, I ever loved?

Your eyes are black holesemotionless

yet they sparkled yet they sparkled when you watched the life, the love

vanish from his eyes.His eyes

That used to be filled with warmth and lightnow dull, lifelessHis soul is goneHis soul is gone

He is freebut I am still herestuck in a world

full of hatred, warand no mercy.

Dirt blowing in my eyesDry and bitter

An excuse for tears The blistering sun

scorching an excuse for exhaustion

What did he do?iOne rock can’t kill you.

Dying would have been less painfulthan watching him die.

Now he is goneForever.

I woke up todayAs Rashid

Just another Palestinian And I can feel the Blood

I am a HeroJust another Palestinian

In the large city of RamallahFull of people

JustLikeMe.

Only wanting To live in my own country

And I can feel the Blood,Sticky and warm,

Different,Evil.

They are evil,Allah resents them,

I am doing what is right,Wh t i b tTo live in my own country.

Then, I was justA man

Just going to the storeTo get ripe fruits

For his elderly mother.I am here now

As Rashid

What is bestFor me,

For my people,For a better life.

And I know I will go to a better Place

After I die.As Rashid

The man who seized an opportunityAnd brought Palestine

One step closerTo breaking free from the tyranny

Imposed on innocent peopleBy the Israelis.

I h

People are going to know my name,Rashid,

The liberator.I will be in a poster

On the wall of a Palestinian child’s Bedroom.

But what of tomorrow?I am a hero now.And with my own hands

I have killedOne of them,

But what of tomorrow?There will be consequences.

Will the Israelis close the border?Will they bulldoze my mother’s house?

Will they send bombs?How can I think about Faraj and Joni,

The two little boysTh t li d th t t?That live down the street?

Will they not be able To grow old

Just because I tried to be a hero?

Will I be able to wake up, Look at myself in the mirror,

And not feel guilt?And what of my mother?

Will she be ashamedTo think of meAs her son?

And did my actionsSend us one step forward

OrTen spacesBackwards?

No,I did the right thing.

Right?

I hate the tanks By Dennis

All I hear is the rumbling of tanksAll I hear is the rumbling of tanksAnd shouts of angry people

Exhaust fills my lungsAs I pick up a rockAs I pick up a rockI will throw the rock

There is nothing else to throwBut will they shoot me? I will throw the rock

I do not careI hate the tanks

When I’m playingWhen I’m playingFootball in my backyard

You don’t even know what type of ‘football’ I’m talking aboutBecause you will never get to experience

A amusing childhoodAnd your backyard

Is just a bunch of jagged rubble

I look at youAnd I see a person

Who fightsFor hope

And as I look at youI think to myself

Is just a bunch of jagged rubbleWhere you don’t even get the opportunity to have fun

How do you even describe the word funIn a way that I can understandAnd that mask on your face

I’ve written all of this and I can’t even see your faceAnd yet

I think to myselfWhat do I really see?

What I really see is a childWith no enjoyable childhood

And risking his lifeFor what he thinks is right

If I had that gun

yI know

That if you take that mask offYou will be killed

And when I ever put on a mask It is for the joy of skiing

On the great mountains in ColoradoIf I had that gun

That you forcefully hold upIn the air

I would be punishedInstead

You are encouragedWith your dad

Oh yeahI’m talking to you

Who will never get to feel what I describe as joyEven when I fall When I’m skiing I get back upAs for you

Holding you up in the airWith pride

Like how proud my dad is whenI get an A+ on a huge project

Even thoughWe are in different scenarios

As for youWho will one time 

Fall And never get up again

If onlyI was there

To stand by youWe have the same feelings

You are fighting for What your definition of right is 

I fight For the ball

To stand by youFor 

Not the differences of usBut for the similaritiesThat bring us together

100 100 GenerationsGenerationsB D lB D lBy: DylanBy: Dylan

It’s What Surrounds You

I’m sorryI m sorryThat you have to live in such a time

So much hatred and war revolve around youPalestinian suicide bombers remove the lives of many

You see and hear explosions every dayYou see and hear explosions every dayGun fire as well

And violence is just a daily thingIn a place whereWherever you goy g

You hear the sounds of soldiers marchingYou feel the pain of people mourning

And you can’t shake the sense of utter hopelessnessI can’t even imagine What it would be like

To have all this hatred surround meI’m sure you see blood almost every day

I thinkh ld ’ hYou shouldn’t have to.

By Brandon

Can’t We Live as One?

DestructionAll around meRocks all aroundb b ff

ByKatharine

A bomb goes offI trip over my clumsy feet

I feel as if I’m fallingLike there is no bottom to this endless plunge

The ice cold wind bites my cheeksYoung kids run and play in the streets

Parents watch and smileAs if nothing is wrong

As if everything is all rightEven though I feel as if I’m still falling

A bus blows up nearbyChildren and parents scream 

I drag my feet along the groundThe soldiers yell words in a language I don’t understand

My arms ache I don’t know where I’m going 

I stumble againBut I stumble on a rock this time

I feel pain in my left legThe soldiers look down

They whisper words quietly among themselvesI still don’t understand

The sky turns a deep gray and rain begins to fallMy leg stings from the rain water rushing down from the sky

I believe that my Jadd and Jaddah are cryingCrying for me

Crying for the horrible things that happen down here In this Holy Landy

I want to be with themI want to cry with them for I don’t wish to stay down here

I want to know what it is like up thereBut mostly,

I don’t want to be here on earthI would go any place that is not here

The clouds part in the sky and the rain comes to a stopp y pMy leg feels better

The soldiers let go of meI’m unaware of where I am

It’s dark and coldAnd as soon as I know it

I’m floating up there with just memoriesThat will soon be 

Forgotten.

Alessandra

Little Brother

Little Brother is what I call youI don’t know what you are feeling

Little Brother

I don t know what you are feeling,Do you really know what is going on?Or who you are fighting for?

You look brave,But how would I know? Little Brother

The bandana around your head,I gave it to you

It shows who you are fighting forLittle BrotherThe fighting,

But how would I know?I am just your big sister,Up in here in heavenLittle BrotherYou’re not old enough to have a gun!Point it in the air if you must

It’s a curseSpread among you and your people

It won’t stopUntil you do

Little BrotherI’m sorr I left so soon

Point it at a soldier if you mustJust knowThey’re going to point it Back at youLittle BrotherThat’s the way they are I’m sorry I left so soon

It was my way to show youWhat path you must choose

Little Brother Don’t be mad at me

I really am

That s the way they areThey walk around Looking so coolActing toughI wish it was me And I really am

Truly sorryNot you

To the little Palestinian girl

Gazing with those huge brown eyes like those of a doe

What are you staring at?What are you staring at?

With so much fear in your eyes

As if you are running from the shadows of death

Are you staring at the destruction of your home?

Or are you staring at the grave

of one of your family members?

Are you staring at the soldiers killing an innocent child in cold blood?

Without any remorse clouding their gazes

A h h f h l ?Are you hearing the screams of these innocent people?

Are you worried it will be you or your family next?

To the little Palestinian girl

Gazing with those huge brown eyes like those of a doeGazing with those huge brown eyes like those of a doe

What is going through your mind right now?

Do your thoughts spark the same fear that is in your eyes?

Are you wondering what is going on right now?

Wondering why are so many people being killed?

Do you miss some of your friends, who may have died?

You lost your childhood innocence when you saw your first death.

I am sure that the little flame you are holdingI am sure, that the little flame you are holding

Is your hope for a better future.

-Eesha The Little Palestinian Girl

James

My sonsMy sonsI may just be a voice in your headBut I am very much realThe world around us spins and turns Just to see you my sons 

You do such things That could get you killedEven for justice and freedom You may only be a couple of children But your power in a rock is your pride For even in times of no wisdom You can only hope that this crime will free your countryFrom Israel’s grasp For you my sons are only three people Making a change for your crazy country 

My sons I hear the soldiers chasing in order to take your headsI see them nearing to where you standI see them nearing to where you standYou should try to run away For although your ideas may be bleak Your freedom is your pride You ask for others to return your land But I may tell you now That violence is not only the incorrect answer But this is a war you cannot winBut this is a war you cannot winWhy don’t you try to cooperate? And time will fix your problem 

My sons Will you let me tell you now That there is no way that you can win Why waste your life To help your clan When you have no fighting chance For words are heard only in your head That lingers in your brain’s distant sky For my sons you guys are not quite thinking You could do such more if you would sit down And devise a plan 

BY: Michael

Dear Son,

I wish I was with you

That I could help but I am gone foreverbut I am gone forever.

You will cry and grieve and your heart will be heavy with

Ma

By:

sorrow .

You may feel deserted and alone in all this violence

ake a

Sa

ra

all this violence.

Still, make a change in the atmosphere.

a d

iffere

Make it happy and cheerful.

Fill our home with peace

N t ith i f d i h

rence

Not with grief and anguish

Love,

Your Mother

One Rock By: Sasha

My sun, my star, my life

Will never again awaken

Hi w m loving eye will not hineHis warm, loving eyes will not shine,Like they used to

Now they are closedAnd never will open

His red cheeks full of lifeNow pale, and cold

LifelessLifeless

One rock is all it took

To take away his life

My child was standing upFor his land

For me

Yet punished

One time he threw a rock

Just once

Why did you have to son?

Why liveWhy liveIf you hate life

Why cryIf it foolish

Why waitIf nothing pleasant is waiting

Just sadness and darknessJust sadness and darknessOvercoming me

A punishment

For what

Throwing that one rock

But now,It doesn’t matter anymore

His lifeWashed away

Him lying in Cold, hard darkness

With nothing

My lightHe’s gone forever

My lifeWill never move again

Because of that one rock.

That candle By Nicholey

It was always that one candle that made me think.

It would make me thinkof the past

d h th ld l and how my mother would always saythat my brother would come back

to visit methat he is fighting

so that we may always livein peacein peace.

It was that onecandle that made me think.

It made me think that I would always havea light that would guide my family and I

through a better lifewith peace and forgiveness.

It was that one candlethat made me think.

Of the times where I could smellthe smoke from the fire that almost killed

my sister but she livedmy sister but she lived.It was that one candle

that made me think.About those good and bad times that

will never leave my heart.

g{x jÉÜwá aÉà fÑÉ~xÇU fUç ftÅ

If you can hear this,If you can hear this message,These words I must get out to youBefore your griefI have these wordsTo explain for you.

My father is buried right now

Young girl,I have heard your words

I have understood your thoughts

And I stand hereWith the smell of dry blood

My father is buried right nowIn an eerie cemetery where thousands of people liemotionlesswhere no one caresand no one dares

One of youWho lies with my father

Wafting through the debris-filled airThe deep growl of the dozer

Flusters my mindOn the beautiful eerie filled day

That is now mine.

I live here to watch my village,My people

Scooped up Who lies with my fatherWho hid a bombDeep beneath his shiny leather coat

I don’t know if it was paybackI do not know if it was angerBut I know my father is innocent

On this gray

Scooped up By a wicked bulldozer

And dumped where the world is stillAnd no one cares

But young girl is it me?Is it I who has done this

To your family?Was it my people?

God-cursed dayWe will send this missile to youSo that you can face The same gray of my everyday

So I tell you,That my life is incomplete Because of youSo these kind soldiers

Was it my people?

You won’t knowAnd I won’t know

But what we both do knowIs that we do not deserve this;

This never-ending war life

So I tell you little girl,So these kind soldiersShall do the sameFor yours...

That I wish good thoughtsFor you and your family

And I wish that you will pray for mineOr at least what is left,

Of our family.

I wonder where you’re going.As I see your tiny faces rolling by.Your treated this way because you’re

.

Jewish.

I say to myself, as I see your tiny faces rolling by.What was wrong with Hitler and his deranged mindHe is someone that lived in a world of darkness.

I say to myself, as I see your tiny faces rolling by.Why aren’t I helping you?Speaking up

I ask myself, as a see your tiny faces rolling by.I’m one in a big world full of many. I m one in a big world full of many. I know people say take part in the change they want to happenBut what can I do to help

I ask you, as I see your tiny faces rolling by. I cannot do anything for you I’m sorryI m sorry,

As I see your tiny faces rolling by. Where your parents just buried just Dumped in a hole.

I k lf I f ll bI ask myself as I see your tiny faces rolling by.I’m sorry.

As I see your tiny, instant faces rolling by.

You are not the rightful owner ofYou are not the rightful owner ofThis Holy LandI will defend what is rightAnd you can not stop meLittle dirty PalestinianStanding thereWith your sticks and stones 

This is our

You have lostFor we are the bossNowAfter all that sufferingMy father’s dreamWill become a realityA d h h l ld ill

Country Now

And the whole world will seeThe injustice that has come toBeYet finallyWe have conquered This holy landThe military forceNow The military force you will never understandIs what I will use to enforce The Jewish lawAnd I will help shapeThe countryThat belongs to us allThat belongs to us allThe JewsAnd the whole world will seeThe fact that was meant to beThis is our country now!

Wooyoung

By MichaelBy Michael

i seetwo boyswho 

could’vemight’ve

i smellthe conflict polluting

the air

and i sensemight veshould’ve

been best friends

i seetwo boysh  li

God’s presence in both of you

i am sorryyou can’t be friends

who liveright next to each other

but might as welllive in separate worlds

i hear

i am sorry you have tolive your lifein fear of what could or might

happenGod calling themasking them to learn

that they are bothhuman beings

happen

i am sorryyou feel 

you need agun

i touchthe gun

wondering whythe boy feels he needs it

And I am sorrythat youtwo boys

can’t be friends

I’m scaredAfraidWorried, But that little voice inside me tells me to

t i not give upThat little voice inside me, tells me this is the beginningThat mysterious little voiceThat tiny little voice tells me to walk forward and not look back on the pastnot look back on the pastIt tells me to hide from the bombers, not to attack,because this is over,for nowThat little voice, telling me what to do, h lhelping meI believe these are all messages from God, he looks after me, he caresHe’s on my side, and we will get back at those terroristsback at those terroristsThank you God, together we will get up and getBack at them, We’ll be unstoppable, just likeTwo gods

-Gretchen

Why Not?By Jessie

So why can’t we?

By Jessie

So why can t we?They were at the landThat’s rightfully ours

So nowTh t thi Why is this wrong?

I’m just playingI’m practicingfor when I grow upwhen I will be able to protect

They get nothing

That flag over there,is why I’m here,

P i i when I will be able to protect my country

and show the Palestinians what we’re made of

It feels amazing

Practicing holding that rock solid gun

in my young hands

It feels amazingto smell the rusty smelland feel the power of a gun

It d ’t tt

You can tell us

to stopfighting

It doesn’t matter that we could hurt the

Palestinians,why not?They send suicide bombers in

but wewon’tuntil they

everydayAnd hurt us

do

WhyIs this happening?

I wish I could live carefree.I should be able to 

Bounce a balland not fear I might getand not fear I might get 

murdered.I should feel the security 

Of my home And family.

I knowThe sounds of destruction

Bombs,Killing,Cries,

Better than the sounds ofThe birds that sing

“Why?”She sobs.

My mother’s tearsLet me know This timei diff tis different.So personal.

Why was I born Palestinian?Is it my fateIs it my fate

to become a martyr?

WhyDo I sit and

Look toward our homeStare at the new rubble that

Lays on the ground?I don’t understandHuman rights

ConflictIsrael’s power Holy land

ByEndless war

Why Don’t I know

Peace?

Ty

_|ààÄ U w g{ _|ààÄ e ~_|ààÄx UÉç tÇw g{x _|ààÄx eÉv~By: YeonJae Lee

I know I can’t hurt you with my rock But I want you to know

How I feelHow I feel.Can we ever be friends?Can we forget the past?

Can we share?I know I can’t hurt you with my little rock but

I will try.yI don’t think we can be friends

I don’t think we can forget the pastI don’t think we can share

I know I can’t hurt you with my rock But I want you to know

H I f lHow I feelI want to be your friend

I want to forget the ugly pastI want to share my land

I know I can’t hurt you with my rockBut I will try until we are friendsBut I will try until we are friends.

I know I can’t hurt you with my rockAs your big gray tank looks down at me I want you to climb out so we can talk

I want you to know the real meNot the me with rock

I know I can’t hurt you with my rock And I will put it down so we can be friends.

YOURS OR MINE?

Running, feet l i th

Soldiers yelling “get out of the way”slapping the

ground,The exhaust,Like the breath of a

the way,Tanks, An unmovable force,Just a boy, compared, T t kdevil,

Sounds that most people only hear in movies,

To a tank,Like a bug Under a human foot,Does there have to be a ,

Tanks the size of a large sheds,Rocks and bombs is all we have to fight

war?Why can’t we get along?Why?

all we have to fight back,What to do next,Run away, throw the

k

By Mason

rock,Stand still,And die here,