You are the symbol of persistence
While I have nothing to show the world..
but my joy and cry..

A Joy of giving birth to one, two or perhaps three
Making me feel extremely special…
A cry of watching you bury yours one after another…
You smile, although your hands quiver…

A joy as I watch my children reach for the stars…
Giving me contentment of worldly expectations…

A cry as your eyes follow your children’s souls go up to heaven…
Leaving you with an everlasting inner satisfaction..

A joy as my newborn is washed,
with the enemy’s scented soap
snuggled in Egyptian Cotton blanket…

A cry as your newborn remains unwashed,
yet fills the morgue with fragrance of Paradise
wrapped in an exquisite shroud…

A joy for my new blooms
as I work on my garden of roses…
Watching birds beat their wings and fly so high..
Hoping for the rain to bless us all

A cry for your withering roses
as you work on your sun-drenched fields..
Looking at birds that won’t leave their nests,
nor fly to your side of the wall…
Fearing notorious showers of bullets and missiles…

A joy while I stand in demos asking for your liberation
and ending the occupation..

A cry while you become a human shield
in front of tanks-protecting what is so dear..

A joy as Al-Quds chants for your departure…
A cry as my heart weeps endlessly for your loss…
Filling this world with more scars..
Sharing the grief of those you left behind….

Shame on us who only joy and cry..
But Woe to those who say this is political
and refuse to get involved

My joy and cry for my Palestinian sisters.
Without you this Ummah suffers a demise of hearts..

~ Umm Shayma ~
-Nouakchott-