If I must die

Artwork: Mural by Banksy, Segregation Wall, West Bank, 2005

Palestinian poet and writer Refaat Alareer was born in Gaza and was killed in Gaza along with his family in an Israeli airstrike in 2023. He was fierce in his advocacy for Palestinian storytelling and the freedom of his people. The following poem by Alareer If I must die, was written in 2011 and speaks of the longing for freedom, but also of hope, even in the face of death.

If I must die,

you must live

to tell my story

to sell my things

to buy a piece of cloth

and some strings,

(make it white with a long tail)

So that a child, somewhere in Gaza

while looking heaven in the eye

awaiting his dad who left in a blaze—

and bid no one farewell

not even to his flesh

not even to himself—

sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up above

and thinks for a moment an angel is there

bringing back love

If I must die

let it bring hope

let it be a tale