By Refaat Alareer
If I must die,
you must live
to tell my story
to sell my things
to buy a piece of cloth
and some strings,
(make it white with a long tail)
so that a child, somewhere in Gaza
while looking heaven in the eye
awaiting his dad who left in a blaze —
and bid no one farewell
not even to his flesh
not even to himself —
sees the kite, my kite you made, flying up
above
and thinks for a moment an angel is there
bringing back love
If I must die
let it bring hope
let it be a tale
The Palestinian poet, writer, literature professor, and activist Dr. Refaat Alareer was killed December 7 in a targeted Israeli airstrike that also killed his brother, his sister, and four of her children.
ABOVE: This balloon banner was created by local artists to support a permanent ceasefire in Palestine. It was flown at a Mothers for Ceasefire kite-making event at Central Park in downtown Durham on December 16th. (Photo by Catherine Edgerton)