Nawel Abdallah
We want to look at red roses
and not think of bloodstains.
We want to enjoy a scene
of summer breeze gently wavering white bed sheets
and not think of having to say last goodbyes
to families wrapped in white shrouds.
We want the grass to grow quietly,
green like heaven,
not dusty like tanks.
We want to raise our heads to the sky,
and not wonder if the plane
is dropping a missile or an aid parcel,
both fatal. We want to gaze
at the sea and not think
about fleeing or drowning.
We want the children to play noisily,
laugh loudly, come home after school,
hungry, but safe.
Nawel Abdallah is a Palestinian-Tunisian student and mother based in Berlin. With a background in medical biotechnology and ongoing academic pursuits in North American Studies at the John F. Kennedy Institute, her interests encompass literature, culture, and politics.
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