A collection of Rita Odeh's poems in Arabic, English and Hebrew

ריטה עודה
משוררת וסופרת, ילידת נצרת 29.9.1960
תואר ראשון בשפה אנגלית וספרות השוואתית
עבדה כמורה לאנגלית בתיכון העירוני- נצרת

מהפרסומים שלה בתחום השירה :

מהפך על השתיקה- 1994
מראות האשליה 1998
יומנה של צוענית מאוהבת- 2001
ומי לא מכיר את ריתה- 2003
לפני החניקה בדמעה- 2004
אני אנסה אותך פעם נוספת- 2008

יצא לאור מעבודותיה בתחום הספרות:

אני השגעון שלך- 2009


שני רומנים קצרים: 2007 - 2008 .

שיריה תורגמו למספר שפות דרך רשת האינטרנט.
קיבלה מקום ראשון ברמה העולמית בתחום כתיבת שירת "ההיקו".



ومضات شعـريــَّة
ريتـا عودة

ריטה עודה
שירים
מערבית: לאה גלזמן
Translation into English by:
Rita Odeh
Nazareth



1-

هذي
جراحي

فادخلوها
آمنين



אלה הם
הפצעים שלי

כלם חרוטים
כעשרת הדיברות
על לוח לבי

תכנסו
בתחושה של
בטחון



These are my wounds. So, do come in feeling safe.





==============




2-

صرخة إعراب

إلى متى
يظلّ الإنسانُ الصادقُ
ضميرا مستترا
وتظلّ الأقزام
المشبّهة بالأفعال
تنصب وترفع
ما تشاء
متى تشاء..!!


צעקת דקדוק

עד מתי
יהיה האדם
הישר
גוף נסתר
ואילו הגמדים שדומים
לפעלים
יעלו ויורידו כל מה שהם
רוצים
מתי שהם
רוצים



A Cry of Grammar

Till when
will the honest
human being,
be
, an absent pronoun
and the dwarfs
,"who look like" verbs
put down, and put up,
whatever they want,
!..whenever they want



====================




3-

لصوصيّة

الحياةُ قنديلٌ . لكن :من سرقَ زيته..؟!



גנבה

החיים הם מנורה. אך : מי גנב את הזית שלה..؟!



Robbery

Life is a lamp. But, who stole it's fuel..?!



=============



4-

صـِرَ ا ع

يُحاصرُني الحزنُ
فأحاصرُه.

حقــًا: البقاءُ دومًا للأقوى





מאבק

כשהעצב
שם עלי מצור
אני שמה עליו
מצור כפול.

בעצם :
רק לחזק יש קיום





Conflict

Sadness besieges me.
I do besiege it.

Indeed,
only the strongest survives.




====================




5-

صمــت

لـنصمتَ قليلاً
لنـُنـْصتَ طويلاً
هاهـُم:
إنَّ
وأنّ
وليتَ
ولعلّ
يهرولون إلينـــا
ونحن وحيدان
و حــ يـــ د ا ن




שקט

בוא נשתוק
לרגע.
בוא נקשיב
לרגע.

הנה הם :
למה
איך
איפה
ומתי
רצים אלינו
ואילו
שנינו בודדים
ב ו ד ד י ם





Scilence


.Let's hush for a while
.Let's listen
:Here they come
,what
,where
,when
and
..why
rushing towards us
while we are both
.lonely
So
l o n e l y




=========================




6-


ازدواجيــّة

التجـأتُ لكفـِّكَ
عـَدوًا خلفَ
قمح ِ حـَنـَان ٍ
فاكتشفتُ أنّها
أيضـًا على الصَّـفع ِ
قادرة ٌ





כפילות

חיפשתי מקלט
תוך כף היד
שלך
בריצה אחרי
חיטה של חיבה
וגליתי
שביכולתה
גם לתת מקות




Double Attitude

I sought refuge
, your hand in
chasing
.the wheat of affection

I found out
that it can also beat.





=====================




7-


حَظرُ تَجَوُّل

تسللتُ بحريّة
إلى مدينة ِ أفكاركَ
فاستوقفني جنديٌّ عابر
على بوَّابةِ أسراركَ ،
وصرخ َ: "هُويَّة "!
حينَ أدركَ أنـّي عربيَّة
صادرَ أَحلاَمِي



עוצר

שוטר שהזדמן
ליד השער של
מחשבותיך
עצר אותי בצעקה:
" תעודת זהות..! "
כשנודע לו
שאני ערביה
הוא עקל את
חלומותיי




Curfew

A passing-by soldier
stopped me,
at
, the gate of your thoughts
shouting:
."!..Identity Card"
When he discovered that
Arab, I am an
.he confiscated my dreams




==================





8-


لمَ، هذا الصّباح، في كلِّ المرايا، أرَاك..!؟



מדוע, בכל מראה, אני רואה אותך הבוקר?!..



!?..Why, in every mirror, I do see you this morning




===================




9-


حريّة

أكونُ لكَ
سنونوّة
حين لا
تكونُ ليَ
القفص




חופש

אני יכולה להיות
הצפור שלך,
אם אתה מבטיח
לא להיות
הכלוב שלי.




Freedom

I can be
your swallow,
if you promise
not to be
.a cage




==========================




10-

حقائق

اللسان الذي لا
يستطيع أن يقول:" لا " ،
ليس لسان إنسان.





עובדות

לשון
שלא יכול לומר: "לא",
הוא לא
לשון של אדם.




Facts

A tongue that
cannot say: " no ",
isn't a tongue
of a human being.




=======================




11

الحبر أبقى

كــَفاكَ عويلا
على حلم ٍمٍَســْكـُوب
كـَفـْكـفْ دَمعـَكَ
واكتـُبنـي:
الحبـرُ أبقـَى
مِن الحُـــبّ




רק הדיו

תפסיק לילל
על חלום שנשפך

את דמעותיך
תנגב
ותכתב אותי

הדיו יאריך
ימים
יותר מהאהבה





Ink Lasts Longer

Stop weeping over
a poured out
dream.
Dry your tears,
and write me.
Ink lasts longer
than love.





==========================================



HAIKU BY POETESS RITA ODEH
Nazareth
2010
מאנגלית: אמיר אור



the scent
not the flower
is driving me crazy

הריח,
לא הפרח
משגע אותי


ليست الوردة
إنما عطرها
هو ما يُدَوِّخـُنـِي




~~~~~



-cloudy morning
a kite flies higher
than its string


בוקר מעונן –
עפיפון עף גבוה
מן החוט שלו


صباحٌ ضبابيّ-
ثمة طائرة ورق تطير أعلى
من خيطها




~~~~~



-waning moon
,on her mourning dress
a white pacifier


לבנה מתמעטת-
על שמלת האבל שלה
מוצץ לבן


قمرٌ متضائل-
ثمةُ مصاصة ٌ بيضاء
على ثوبِ حِدادها



~~~~~



-first butterfly
a child asks
if it's real


פרפר ראשון –
ילד שואל
אם זה אמיתי


الفراشة ُ الأولى-
طفلٌ يسأل:
أهي حقيقيّة.!



~~~~~



-crowded park
a couple hugs
in my shadow


גן הומה אדם
שני חיבוקים
בצלי


منتزهٌ مزدحم-
ثمة ُ عاشقان يتعانقان
في مجالِ ظلـّي




~~~~~



-refugee camp
sculpting the tree trunk
into a cross


מחנה פליטים
מפסל את גזע העץ
לצלב


مخيمُ لاجئين-
ثمةُ من ينحتُ صليبًا
من جذع شجرة




~~~~~



-Borders
sparrows fly above
the rusty barbwire


גבולות –
דרורים עפים מעל
התיל החלוד


حدودُ البلاد-
عصافيرُ الدوريّ تطيرُ فوقَ
الأسلاك الصَّدئــَة




~~~~~



-Borders
the olive branches sway
beyond the barbwire


גבולות –
ענפי הזית מתנועעים
מעבל לתיל


حدودُ البلاد-
فروعُ شجرةِ الزيتون تتخطّى
الأسلاك الشائكة




~~~~~



-Camp
she asks her father
!what is a refugee


מחנה –
היא שואלת את אביה
מה זה פליט!


مخيَّم-
تسألُ والدها ما معنى
كلمة لاجئ




~~~~~



-peace talk
the third crow
of a rooster


שיחת שלום –
קריאתו השלישית
של תרנגול


محادثةُ سلام-
الصّياح الثالث
للدّيك




~~~~~




christmas
morning; a child on
the crowded
lorry counting one
soldier . . . two, three


בוקר כריסטמס;
ילד על משאית
צפופה, סופר חייל
אחד... שניים, שלושה


الصباحُ الأول للميلاد-
طفلٌ في شاحنة
يواصلُ العدَّ:
جنديان..ثلاثة
أربعة...




~~~~~



-autumn morning
strutting behind his shadow
the old turkey


בוקר סתו –
טופף אחרי צלו
תרנגול ההודו הזקן


صباحٌ خريفيّ-
خلفَ ظلِهِ يختالُ
الديك الرُّوميّ




~~~~~



...that full moon
a coin falls into
the beggar's palm


הירח המלא ההוא...
מטבע נופל לתוך
כפו של הקבצן


ذلكَ القمر المكتمل-
قطعة ُ نقودٍ تقعُ
في راحةِ مُتسَوِّل

Poems By: Rita Odeh, Nazareth

-1-
Christmas Thoughts


Filled with your delicious revelation,
I walk
Among hundreds of tired, worried faces
Who hurry at night
To the christmas tree
And to the wailing of the stove
I do realize that
I have no homeland
Except your heart
*
Spiritual Songs are heard everywhere:
"Grace prevails in the sky ”
The pulse of my heart quickens
I go on singing:
.
.
Occupation prevails on earth,)
Hearts are thirsty to peace)
*
Bells which begin to ring
Tear up the fog which surrounds
Jerusalem
They sound as drums of war
I see ghosts of planes
Spitting hatred from above
While
Spiritual songs still go on:
(It is snowing,
It is snowing:
PEACE,
LOVE,
and
GOOD)
.
.
Misery accumulates
More and more
In the crib of the heart
*
It is raining slightly.
On the path of pain
There are hungry and thirsty people
Who are still
sieging their siege
And dreaming
Of the prophecy of peace
*
The spiritual song
Freezes the bones:
.
.
(It is snowing, It is snowing..)
.
.
I seek the warmth of my promise
To be yours
As long as the dream goes on
Because the waves of love
Struck the rock of my heart
And caused it to split
It
Read a fervent prayer
And fell willingly
As a fish
In your sea
*
Oh my beloved Stranger,
You who is living
Under the snow of disunion
Every eve,
In which you can become the hero
Who listens to my pure bitter stories
About the dryness of exile
And the pain of Identity loss
Till I manage to conquer
The throne of your emotions,
.
.
Every such eve,
Is the real:
Christmas Eve


2003





-2-
I did not tell


I did not tell
The small birds
About us
For they have dwelled in us
And immigrated
As we forsook
Our coo
And broke up


You unfastened
My chains
And gave me the identity of tears
I unfastened
Your chains
And gave you the opportunity
Of return
For
You were
And you will always be
My only connection
:To
Seas, fields, and rain


2003





-3-
Be My Spring


,From now on
I donot want the poem
To dream of you
I want to dream of you
Because
Right now
I see nothing
Except you
And some of tomorrow's
Silk
*
,From now on
I donot want to gaze for long
In darkness
It's enough for me
To light one hope
So that I can see you
And see the outlets
On the cracked walls
Of wishes
*
:Oh grief
do leave my dreams
For
,From now on
You won't be
My only identity
All the autumn leaves
Have fallen from your bags
All have
Really fallen


2003







-4-
I Have The Right


I have the right
To light
The poem
By some love
And
A lot of dream
For my alphabet
Is always cabable of
glowing
*
I have the right
To borrow
From the small birds
Their dreams
In order to sing
Because
One thousand songs
Seduce me
On beds of papers
*
I have the right
To die
And get revived
From the ash of love
To sink and sink
And enjoy
The softness of
Sinking
*
I have the right
To live as an eagle
When the tribe
Denies me thrice
And turns me into a victim
Of
Restlessness and sleeplessness
*
I have the right
To be tempted by the twilight
So that I can see
Because my third eye
Is a quick-tempered pen
Which is fond of
Conquering the whitness
By ink
So that seas get overflown
By gulls
Which know how to
Praise God
*
I have the right
to get
all what the poets
have the right to get
Which Others
Are not allowed to get
Of
the glamor of prophecy
From the beginning of the poem
Till the last full stop


2003







-5-
In My Way To You


,In my way to you
...I cross the river
for you are
the rain which inspires
..small birds,lilies,and buds
,and you are the legend
(which has not yet been told)
of disobedient happiness
as it surrenders..
...You are the greeness of thought
~
,In my way to you
...I cross the river
for you are the blanket
,which protects from the cold
...whenever the heart is hurt
You are a journy
,towards the bank of hope
,whenever fate obeys
...and the news are brought
~
,In my way to you
...I cross the dawn
...bearing gypsy songs in the heart
for you are the cloud
which draws the most creative pictures
,in the minds of the poets
and you are the branch
which doves bring
...as the flood is sought
~
,In my way to you
...I cross grief
for you are the holiday
...as the moon is full
You are the (OHHhh)on the lips
,at sleepless nights
and the Spring of poems
as the fraught September is caught


2003





-6-
These Are My Wounds:




Liberty

I write:
I do touch the stars
In a moment of birth
Between one death
and another





(*)

Mirrors Of Illusion

Isn't it Time
To set my body free
From the bottle of perfume
To set my pain free
From the the coffins of the tribe
To set my neck free
From the scaffold of injustice
And my face
From the mirrors of illusion
To look for my voice
In the chat of seabirds
To the waves

To draw my identity card
In the whisper of the papers
To the waves of ink





(*)

A CRY OF SYNTAX

Till when
Will the honest human being
Be an absent pronoun
And the dwarfs
Who look like "verbs"
Put down
And put up
Whatever they want
Whenever they want





(*)

Robbery

Life is a lamp
But
Who stole its fuel...?!





(*)

Suffocation

I own a dream
But
I don't own a window
which can overlook it





(*)

Curfew

A passing-by soldier
Stopped me
At the gate of your thoughts
By shouting: " Identity Card !! "
When he discovered that I am an Arab
He confiscated my dreams





(*)

The Dialogue Of Reminiscences

What does an Olive Tree
Say to the pieces of stone
Which fall on it
After every:
On-purpose demolish !?





(*)

Conflict

Sadness besieges me
So I besiege it
Till the last drop!
.
.
Indeed,
Only the strongest survives!





(*)

Expressions Of Sadness

Sadness came to tap
On the shoulder
Of happiness
BUT:
Found it paralized





(*)

An Ant

This morning
I saw him
as an ant
dragging
the straw of circumstances
And yellig:
My way is hard
my
.
.
w
a
y
.
.
is
HARD





(*)

Depression

Hope passed by me
So I saw it:
.
.
as blind as my happiness





(*)

Humanity

Birds
Do sing
Do get excited
Do get angry,
Furious or even revolt
But they never:
.
.
HATE





(*)

A Fairy Tale

Many,
So many times
I've dreamt
That my shoe unconsciously
slips
from my foot
And a prince
Wanders
In a long long trip
Looking for me





(*)

Silence

Let's hush for a while
Let's listen for a while
.
.
Here they come:
what,
where,
when,
and
why
rushing to us
while we are both
lonely
l o n e l y





(*)

A Modest Hope

One candle
Could defeat
The ice of loneliness
So,
I saw you there
And,
I miseed you here





(*)

A Sandy Hope

Since our dream began to kindle
we have been
piling sacks of sand
on its doors and windows
.
.
How much sand
Is there left
In the deserts
Of the universe...!?





(*)

A Twin Of Dream

I wish
You stay a dream
So that I won't lose you
But I don't know why
whenever I see two in love
I do miss you





(*)

Love

I dreamt
That I am a rose
And when I woke up
You were near me
Inhaling my fragrance
Getting more and more
Agitated





(*)

Belonging

Your fate is to be " a subject "
My fate is to be " your predicate "
Our fate
Is never to be
In the same sentence





(*)

Black

The heart still deserves
Better than this colour
So:
Black must wash its clothes
By its own hands
And leave us
Weave our colours
By our own





(*)

The Legend Of Love

Once upon a time,
I wrote on the sun
To those who don't care of me:
" I do love him "
My pulse still seeks him
Despite those
Who care of
Executing the birds of
Beauty, love, and liberty





(*)

White

My thrill
Of being your love
Is a belt
Which is capable of
Exploding sadness





(*)

A Heavenly Butterfly

With a butterfly like me
You don't need a net
For you can be
A flower in which
I long to rest





(*)

I Release Your Wings

Don't enter
The cage of my heart
As a tame bird
Be free ..free..free
Fly high ..high ..high
Because
This is only how
I can
Adore you





(*)

Trapped In My Net



Like a baby lion
You come strutting
Into my net
Asking to be caught
While we are both already caught
In the cage of
Life





(*)

Belonging

Play as you wish
On my strings
Nobody owns
The keys of my violin
Except me





(*)

The Game Of Words

If you accept a woman
Born of nothing but words
And can give nothing but words
Then I"ll bless
Our birth
Inside the womb
Of language
And I'll bless
The expected mess
Of our dream's sparkles





(*)

Resurrection

How delicious death can be
When I live
The resurrection
Of my heart
On your palms





(*)

A Well Of Pain

I pour my pain
As a fall
Inside the well
Of your heart
And your lips
Sip it
Drop by drop





(*)

Weeping
Wets The Poem's Dress

Don't wash
In the rain of my pain
So that you won't catch
The virus of writing
From the deepest point
Of the heart





(*)

Confession

My buds have never blossomed
On any branch
At any time
Except
The moment your heart
Flirted
The strings
Of my affection





(*)

Moments Of Worship

As a migratory bird
Your wings landed
On the affection of my palm
I became your homeland
You became my birth
Then farewell blew
And tore the virginity of happiness
And distorted our moments of worship
It wringed, bewildered, wounded us
Then it threw us
Each in an
Exile





(*)

Disappointment

You draw to the other
expressions
which don't look like him
In order to love him
As you wish
And suddenly,
He may surprise you
Of what you don't wish





(*)

Torture

Oh
How big is your heart...!
.
.
It extends
To love
ALL women
On earth





(*)

Double Attitude

I sought refuge
In your hand
Chasing the wheat of affection
And I found out
That it can also:
.
.
BEAT





(*)

Adam And Eve

He promised her
Fields of wheat
He promised
Love and heat
She received
Waves of:
Hate





(*)

Childhood

I won't seize
Building houses from clay
On the shore of excitement.
Probably,
Days can go back
And once again
You become a child
Who longs to share me
A loaf of a small dream





(*)

Ink Lasts Longer

Stop weeping
Over a poured out
Dream
Dry your tears
And write me
Ink lasts longer
Than love


2001






-7-





A Word


,In the beginning
;there was: “A Word”
a hurricane
that conquered the windows
,of my existence
,unbuttoning my emotion
without asking for any
permission
waking up the seagulls of imagination
that went behind my physical walls
...chanting
:giving me a free ticket to
,the towns of wonder
,the secrets of thunder
washing me by the water of
,excitement
baptizing me by the scent of
..anticipation

On the tenth day
.the word went to rest


*(Mirrors Of Illusion, Rita Odeh, 1998, P.P. 46-47)

Short Stories by: Rita Odeh, Nazareth

-1-

A Different Dream
Short Story


I shrank in the swing like an embryo in a womb .
It began to sway me between two olive trees , under the rain.
~
I saw him...
On the other bank of the dream he was flapping his wings.
He saw me ...
Each bank went closer to the other.
As I looked in his eyes, I saw the sea, which has
always obsessed my dreams , and drove me to wait for its waves so long.
~
Her reproach woke me up :
- Are you still dreaming?
*Oh, again .....!!
-Wake up. Stop weaving threads of illusion around you.
* Why should this annoy you..?!
-Because You think that life is a dream.Open your eyes. Look around you. Don t you see war which may outbreak at any moment, don t you see our father who was thrown on the bed of pain since their company declared bankrupt,don t you see our brother who was forced to quit the university in order to work and help us survive , don t you see our mother suffering
silently while depression ...

I interrepted her whispering:
*Merely, because of such reality , I do need to dream. Do you understand now......?!
~
I resumed swinging . When the swing lifted me high, I saw my sister " upside-down", and when it brought me down , I saw her " downside-up" !
She did not give up. She went on but with a decreasing anger:
-Honey, if you wish your hand to reach the top of a tree, you need a ladder..
I declared while I was looking at her "downup-side":
* I have a ladder which can make me reach the sky.
~
I resumed,passing the colourful beads,one by one,in the thread of dreams.


Vote 4 Me












-2-

Out of The Reach
of Any Hand


:I ignore her routine insistance
(Go to wash the dishes,Hanady)
by sneaking from the back door to the garden .with a rope in my hand
:Excitedly, I begin to race with time
... One jump, two , thr
. A hand catches me
You are here, while I am withering there from -
!!..cooking, brooming and ironing
..!! How heartless you are

My heart fells down. I see it rolling away and away till it settles in a spider's net.She grips my dress and begins to push me in front of her to the kitchen. She takes the rope from my hand and begins to cut . it to pieces and throw them in the basket of rubbish She does not notice the stars which began , to fall from my forehead . nor the sinking of my ships , Before disappearing behind her shadow : she threatens me
If you don’t begin immediately to -
wash the dishes, your punishment will be .worse than any time

*

I begin to feel the water in the wash-bowl . and enjoy its warmth The bubbles which fly around me .like coulerful butterflies attract my attention
.. I pick up a dish
... I make a rope
... With every new dish I fly high,high
.. Above the buildings
.. Above the plains
.. Above the sea
.. Above the stars
.. Higher
. Higher than the reach of any hand










-3-

Three Faces
and One Story


I used always to see it from my acute corner, stuck silently on the wall, near the window which overlooks the garden through iron bars, unable to change its position.
( SHE ) passes by it every morning, with a lipstick. Her hand begins to shiver as it reflects a pale face. The lipstick falls from her hand and keeps rolling away till it settles at the foot of the girl who sits waiting impatiently for her mother to leave the room.
( The Girl ) sneaks to it with the lipstick in her hand and begins the ritual of passing it on her lips . Delightedly, she sticks to it, nose on nose , mouth on mouth. She goes far from it, dancing with feminine affection, combing her long brown hair by her ivory comb, decorating her hair with red butterflies , dreaming of Snow-White . She talks to it:
( Mirror, oh mirror ! Who is more beautiful , me or Mam?!)
Nobody could wake her up from that rosy dream except her mother's reproach:
(We are late for the kindergarten, darling ..!), and her father's shout as he snatches the lipstick from her hand, terrifying her as if he were "The Humpbacked Of Noterdam" :
(You'll drive this girl crazy ! Why do you buy such silly things..??)
The three of us hear the groaning of a woman behind the wall.She sits in her room dreaming of a prince who will meet her in a royal party, fall in love with her and trace her with one shoe in his hand till he finds her and saves her from the cave of agony.
(HE) has never approached that mirror since my mother died and I moved to live here with my eldest sister. He dresses up in a hurry as if his appearance does not mean anything to him. However, If it happens that he glances his face in that mirror he will convince himself that it did not reflect his real face.
*
I used to spy their faces in that mirror in order to write about them , for I see that writing will always be my eternal mirror.








-4-

Am I my brothers keeper..?!


The newscaster s face appeared in his usual seriousness:
(God s peace, mercy and blessings be upon you).
òSoon after his wishes for peace, scenes of destruction followed: human cells spread in the air everywhere. The voice of blood is heard screaming from every spot in the earth.
The newscaster is interviewing an American official in an attempt to expose the real face of his humanity. Many shouts and insults.Another official leaves his seat without apology.
*
I start scratching the scalp of my head. Something thorny hurts.I Press one nail on the other.
Oh God:
- Lice ..!!
As if the pain I suffer is not sufficient to meet my daily needs.
As if I need a dose of an additional pain.
I feel extra worried.
I run to the bottle of kerosene.
I pour abundantly on my hands and wash my hair.
I start coughing.I run to the window.
*
Staring at the passers by in the street which extends to the garbage container, I see human ghosts moving in every direction. Each of them is scratching either his own scalp or the other s in disharmonic rhythms.









-5-

Dreaming of Santa


The path of pain is crowded with many hungry, barefoot Palestinian children who walk towards the Calvary barefoot, yet, surrounded by the Christmas illuminations.They are born to carry the cross and look for identity. Many have witnessed the demolishing of their houses. Many are left without any shelter. Many are left without a parent to supply the basic needs of life.

The same path is also crowded with many Jewish children who live under the fear of explosive human beings. They suffer from nightmares. They feel scared to leave to school in the morning. They feel terrified to sit in a bus which may explode at any moment. The idea of a missile, flying in the sky, landing in the playing yard or near the warm bed is awfully terrifying.

All those children live in the so called: Holy Land , which is supposed to be the land of peace, the land of love, the land of forgiving..!!

At Christmas time, one may ask:
For whom the bell tolls..?
Who has stolen the dreams of such innocent children..?
Is it he who comes to steal, kill and destroy..?

But, isn’t it the duty of mature people to wake up from such a terrible nightmare by changing attitudes, by accepting peace and walking the path of a stable life..?

Isn’t it time for mature people to realize that violence brings more violence, and Blood Shed makes us lose the basic traits of our beings: HUMANITY.

Isn’t it time for Cain and Abel to realize that they are brothers that souls are more precious than soil, that any crisis can be solved if it is fed by good intentions.

It is the most proper TIME for those innocent children to live, rejoice and dream of Santa peacefully.


Dec.12,2006









-6-

Revolution
Inside a Cup of Cold Water


Finally, I decided to break that triangle of silence between us.
As I handed him the cup of water, I imagined that the drops began to wave
clamorously
inside that transparent cup.
I began to talk to him reproachfully:
- Won't you leave this newspaper and go to replace the gaz-masks as all sane people have
done...?! Haven't you realized that war is about to break out and that all people have
got their provisions of plastic covers , mineral water and canned food...?! He glared at me as if I were his pupil caught at a moment of weakness.
*
Nothing stood between me and him at that moment except that cursed newspaper which seemed to challenge my revolution by its red bold head-title :
" One God and One Life"
*
Coldly, he pulled up the cup of water, put it at the edge of his mouth ,
pulled it higher
and began to sip all the waves till the last drop !









-7-

Thus We Sing


Alleys are still sunk in the silence of the curfew. The kid with the long tress and moony face is still sunk in the ecstasy of spoiling- Venus; the Siamese cat, with the white fur and bright eyes that reflect the greenness of olives.
*
Somebody cannot stand the four walls.
A hand is moving slowly to set the door free. An eye which is overlooking the Alley is looking for an outlet.
The cat takes the opportunity of liberty. Fearfully, the girl runs after hope...
*
A wild shot is heard in the narrow Alley.
An innocent cry is heard exploding in the narrow Alley.
*
That Robot who has settled on a cloud; suffering the rain and cold; has to fulfill his profession honestly. It requires that any prey which is tempted to break the 11th commandment will be hunted.


Vote 4 Me
2007 / 12 / 5










-8-

Moldiness


Another piece of bob corn; coincides with the announcement of the presenter on the fall of a tribe of innocent people who tried to flee the terror of death, under the rubble of a house; were shot by (smart) missiles on the public highway.
Many other pop corn pieces...
When will the order arrive..?!
It is being delayed beyond any patience of waiting.
My blood began to curdle. Paralysis conquers my mouth.
A door knocks!
I take the order.
What a beautiful coffin? It is exactly my size.
I lay inside it.
Death is a defeat, but who cares..?!.
My death will pass peacefully.
No mouth will come to mourn me.
Do I care..?!

A moment before pulling the coffin cover over me, the smell of moldiness, emerged from various directions, with different intensities.


Vote 4 Me
2007 / 12 / 5









-9-

Waiting for Me


Inevitably, they are still waiting.
Well, here I am ready to go back to the land of milk and honey.
But, what is all this destruction? How has the Cactus been covered with blood and dust, how?
Oh, Lord! Where are they? Aren t they used to wait for me in the streets singing..?
Well, I ll look for them. It, may be a good surprise.
The more I look around, the more I wonder. I start looking for a glimmer of hope.
From afar, I see an illuminated room. It looks like a big cage. My shadow beats me to it. I stand nailed to the transparent door looking inside.
Uh, here they are. A group of them is sitting on the right and another on the left, each behind a machine. Images keep flashing while sound effects of shots and noise rise until reaching the far spots of the Earth.
No one notices me.
I knock on the glassy barrier. My heart rejoices:
- Dear children, I am here. Here, loaded with toys...
No one cares.
An irritated voice asks: Who is this red old man?
A nearby child pulls his eyes away from the screen for a moment in order to play on the guitar of compassion:

– Poor Santa! He is still living the dream of return...



Vote 4 Me
2007 / 12 / 7





-10-

Our Daily Bread


My ink is a sparrow looking for a grain of wheat.
I surrender to the appetite of writing by watching the street.

An old man is dragging his shadow behind him.
He stands still behind the clean window which separates us.
He stares at the two fish in my spicy dish.
He looks at me.
Before leaving, he fills his lungs with the air of this place.
I sip from my lemon tea and decide to watch him.

There he is crossing the street directly to the garbage cart.
He reaches out and excavates…
He reaches out and chews...
He reaches out and lives...

Indeed, a piece of bread, even if it is rotten,
may be enough to resist the overwhelming darkness of this world.
It is enough to save him from losing himself.


Vote 4 Me
2007 / 12 / 11

The Ten Legends - by: Rita Odeh

Haiku by: Rita Odeh,Nazareth, 2006
Haiga by: Kuni Shimizy, Japan,2006
worldhaiku




The Ten Legends


(1)
I'm not a butterfly
You are not my lamp
I am the cord
(which lightens the lamp)



(2)
What a stupid
You deplumed
My wing's feathers
In order to
Give me a pillow
?!.. As a present



(3)
I can be your
swallow
If you promise
Not to be
My cage



(4)
Rain falls down
Drop by
D
R
O
P
Does it realize
That it falls
So
: It comes to us
?!.. Crying



(5)
At the end of the legend
The prince went amiss
From the princess
And after
One thousand nights
When he found her
The shoe
Was already
Smaller than her dream



(6)
!!.. Oh
Naughty beloved
On this board of chess
I am the king
If by the whips of jealousy
You kill me
The game will be over



(7)
, Secretly
I dipped the sea
In your memory
At the moment of farewell
Will it dry
Before it
!?.. Brings you back to me



(8)
(:She)
Each question
Has one answer
And I am your answer


(:He)
I am a question
Which can have
Several answers



(9)
: Once he announced
, Babe
Love is a false pregnancy
.
.
Being so naïve
I believed him



(10)
: To happiness
See you tomorrow
At dawn
For I am attacked now
By soldiers
Of sadness





Poem by: Rita Odeh,Nazareth, 2006
Haiga by: Kuni Shimizy, Japan,2006
worldhaiku





EMBERS



(1)
Because
I am a poem
Read me
In the eyes of
A professional critic



(2)
You are the one
Who said that
The risk of drowning
In my sea
Is more delicious than
Drowning In
Ink



(3)
Since an isolation,
I have been rowing alone
By the oar of the MIND
Who sneaked into my boat
And started rowing
From the other side
By the oar of the HEART



(4)
If you look longer
In my eyes
You will fall
A narcissus will grow
In the womb
Of the dream



(5)
In order to love you more
I began to reconcile with
My four seasons



(6)
A poem of prose
I was,
When you came
I got my
Rhyme



(7)
One drop of water
Does not make a sea
:How can
(I love you)
water me
If it is not repeated
At the extent of the sea



(8)
It is fair
If my perfume
Makes you dizzy
At least once
.
.
Every second



(9)
In love
A bird on a tree
Is better than
Ten in the heart



(10)
Who said that
?!.. Love is blind
Love has many eyes
But they see
What THEY
Want to see



(11)
Be my rain
Not the umbrella



(12)
Whenever jealous people
Stand between
u......s
eclipse begins



(13)
I
.....
........
SHE ...........YOU

Won"t at least
One side of this triangle
Of love
Fall forever



(14)
Jealousy
Is the same as
The fingerprints
It never changes
No matter how many papers
You change



(15)
It is your chronic
Absence
Which taught me
To run
Towards the wind



(16)
I look for you and you look for me
As two parallel lines ; each refuses to break



(17)
How
As I finished the rituals
Of your banishment
You came back
As a wet bird
Wailing at my lips
As a spoiled child
Yearning to my lap



(18)
My grandmother
Kept telling me the story
Of the knight who
Fell in love with a princess
: Till an inner sound cried out
“Life is not a legend”



(19)
I still make the dough
Of my poems
From the wheat
Of astonishment
And I bake them
In the oven of illumination
:Then
.
.
I expect the invasion of the
Beggars



(20)
There is a hidden link
Between the idea and the paper
I do not cut it
Till I am sure of the maturity
Of my birth



(21)
Since the birth of my Ink
I've promised
To defeat the soldiers of
Cheating
And I kept the promise



(22)
I'm a letter
You are its address
And the stamp



(23)
The moment I tried
To pass the borders
A soldiers
Ordered me to open
The luggage of my heart

He arrested me
Accusing me of
Attempting to
Smuggle:

" A Love Affair "



(24)
She asked GOD
To keep her a child
In the eyes of her beloved

In a moment,
She began to shine
As a star
In the sky



(25)
All the chemical experiments
Which she conducted
To discover the traits of his metal
Led to
.
.
An Explosion



(26)
It was not the fox
Which stained my shirt
As you threw me
In the abyss
It was me..!

I killed the fox
In order to
Survive
Your Absence



(27)
I'm a poet
Who is fond of
Untying
The laces of:
Monotony From the braid
Of the "WORD"
So that
It can feel proud
Of being feminine



1998

Mirrors of Illusion-By: Rita Odeh

Haiku be: Rita Odeh, Nazareth, 2006
Haiga by: Kuni Shimizu, 2006
worldhaiku




Mirrors of Illusion
Rita Odeh


Isn't it Time
To set my body free
From the bottle of perfume
To set my pain free
From the the coffins of the tribe
To set my neck free
From the scaffold of injustice
And my face
From the mirrors of illusion
To look for my voice
In the chat of seabirds
To the waves
To draw my identity card
In the whisper of the papers
To the waves of ink


~


A Heavenly Butterfly

With a butterfly like me
You don't need a net
For you can be
A flower in which
I long to rest


~


I Release Your Wings

Don't enter
the cage of my heart
as a tame bird.
Be free ..free
Fly high ..high
because
this is only how
I can
adore you


~


Trapped In My Net

Like a baby lion
into my net
you come strutting
asking to be caught

Aren't we already caught
in the cage of
Life, baby..?!


~


Belonging

Play as you wish
on my strings
Nobody owns
the keys of my violin
except me..!


~


The Game Of Words

If you accept a woman
born of nothing but words
and can give nothing but words,
then I"ll bless
our birth
from the womb
of language,
and I'll bless
the expected mess
of our dream's sparkles



~



Resurrection

How delicious
death can be
when I live
the resurrection
of me
on your palms


~


Adam And Eve

He promised
fields of wheat.
He promised
Love and heat.
She received nothing
but waves of hate



~



A Well Of Pain

I pour my pain
as a fall
inside the well
of your heart.
Your lips
Sip it
Drop by drop



~



Weeping Wets
The Poem's Dress

Don't wash
in the rain of my pain,
So that you won't catch
the virus of writing
from the deepest point
Of the heart


~


Confession

My buds
have never blossomed
on any branch
at any time
exceptf
the moment your heart
Flirted the strings
of my affection



~



Worship

When as a migratory bird
your wings landed
on my palm
I became a homeland


~


You Or The Poem

I have always been
out of breath
after the steps
of a man by my charms
to hunt a poem.
But, when my heart fell in love,
the "poem" began
Chasing, detaining, surrounding me
Hunting my strength,
and my weakness


1998