June Jordan - Intifada lyrics

In detention in concentration camps we trade stories we take turns sharing the straw mat we watch what crawls in and out of the sand As-Salāmm 'Alaykum The guards do not allow the blue woolen blanket my family traveled far to bring to this crepuscular and gelid cell where my still breathing infant son and I defy the purgatory implications of a state-created hell Wa 'Alaikum As-Salām The village trembles from the heavy tanks that try to terrify the children: Everyday my little brother runs behind the rubble practicing the tactics of the stones against the rock. In January soldiers broke his fingers one by one. Time has healed his hands but not the fury that controls what used to be his heart. Insha Ā'llāh Close the villages Close the clinics Close the school Close the house Close the windows of the house k** the vegetables languishing under the sun k** the milk of the cows left to the swelling of pain Cut the electricity Cut the telephones Confine the people to the people Do Not Despair of the Mercy of Allah Fig trees will grow and oranges erupt from desert holdings on which plastic bullets (70% zinc, 20% gla**, 10% plastic) will prove blood soluble and fertilize the earth where sheep will graze and women no longer grieve and beat their breasts They will beat clean fine-woven rugs outside a house smelling of cinnamon and nutmeg Ahamdullilah So says Iman the teacher of peace the shepherd on the mountain of the lamb the teacher of peace who will subdue the howling of the lion so that we may kneel as we must five times beginning just after dawn and ending just before dusk in the Ibādah of prayer Allāhu Akbar Allāhu Akbar Allāhu Akbar