My alarm clock rings at 6 am IST whether there
Is a war or not. 6 missed notifications, 2 missed
Calls, and instagram frozen. I swipe across stories
And Darwish waves at me, followed by a turnip
Colored infographic that reads: “What is happening
In Palestine, and how you can help!” Darwish appears
A few more times, and takes my leave. The college
Cafeteria is loud and one can hear a couple of murmurs about
Palestine. They all come and go, and speak of Gaza,
BDS, Zionism and the various words that they know. I
Rush into the library. I get my arms around all that
Can be found. Kanafani demands freedom, and so must we.
He doesn’t stop talking about the trees. And in such a
Way, I have learned about the world. To comprehend
Crisis, occupation and war. It is a bitter feeling. On
Second thought, it occurs to me that we all do the same,
In one way or another. We understand the world, having
Sworn to change it. Everything we learn about is crisis,
Or the aftermath of a crisis, or a precursor to a crisis.
Our alarm clocks ring at 6 am IST whether there
Is a war or not. We need to get out of bed
Whether there is a war or not.
(This poem was first published in Gulmohur quarterly)
