To Love a Palestinian Woman

To Love a Palestinian Woman

By: Ehab Lotayef 

Translated into Arabic by: Adib S. Kawar

When you love a Palestinian woman,
the essence of resistance seeps into your existence;
you comprehend
the meaning of persistence.

In her eyes you may see
residues of a tear,
but never a sign of fear.

When you love a Palestinian woman,
the essence of resistance seeps into your existence;
you comprehend
the meaning of persistence.

In her eyes you may see   
residues of a tear,
but never a sign of fear.

When you love a Palestinian woman,
your heart is tuned
to the beat of a heart
that can never forget.

When you love a Palestinian woman
you love every wave
that kisses the shores of her land,
every olive tree in Galilee,
every particle of salt
in the Dead Sea.

When you love a Palestinian woman,
you love a smile
mysteriously mixed with pain unknown to others;
and a laugh that was choked
when the land was separated from its faithful lovers.

When you love a Palestinian woman
you love a spirit
that inherited the will to stand,
and eyes
that terrify guards at check-points,
in a way no man can.

How can any man love
but a Palestinian woman?

" To Love a Palestinian Woman" is written by an Egyptian Canadian poet who lives in Montreal. This man was married to a Palestinian woman, but he got a divorce. What is interesting is that he married a Jewish woman. But then, after his second marriage, he wrote this poem "