Son of the Sea

He sits on his favorite bench by the water.
Where waves gently splashed ‘his’ feet,
Reminding him of the last few years
And the first few years of ‘his’ childhood.
Those warm splashes, like memories,
Touched ‘his’ little feet
While running by the sea.

He sings by the sea,
But not to the sea.
He sings ‘his’ favorite lullaby
Once the twilight hits,
Because that was ‘his’ favorite bedtime,
To fall asleep in the cabin he built by that bench by the sea.

Once he falls asleep after the lullaby,
Water splashes on his feet again,
Waking him up.
It reminds him of ‘his’ son,
Who he called the Son of The Sea,
Because he loved the sea.

05/05/2024
Mohammed Arafat

Wait for Me

Gazan mothers bear the weight of unbearable loss, their children claimed by this relentless war. Thousands of children in Gaza have died since the beginning of the war, leading UNICEF to describe Gaza as a ‘graveyard for children’.

This poem speaks to the agonizing wait Gazan mothers go through, yearning for their children’s return, while knowing they won’t return.
——————————————————
—Wait for Me—

Underneath the moon’s soft glow,
I whisper,
Wait for me,
Alone, with nothing left behind.

Who will I sing to before bedtime,
As we wait for your father to come home?

The home, our home, our family’s home,
Now gone,
Destroyed in mere seconds,
flattened to the ground,
So please, wait for me.

I hold onto fragments of memories,
Our pictures burned, memories fading,

My mind aches with the weight of loss.
I never taught you to walk or talk, or even wait.
Just a few months old, I know you can’t wait, but please, wait.

I’ll sing, cradle, capture every moment,
I will do it over and over again,
In case you leave me again with lots of pain.

I am here waiting for you to wait for me,

Can you hear me?

Mohammed Arafat
05/03/2024

A Message

I wake up this morning, alone,

in my tent.

My phone finally charged after long weeks.

There is a message on the screen.

It’s from the one I lost.

“Habibi, please come home”

The distance has been painful,

and the longing speeds up my heartbeat, but I know there is no home to go back to.

My beloved would be my home, if alive!

MOHAMMED ARAFAT

04/26/2024

Awaiting the Unknown

Oh, you who listened to my pain and chose only to watch,

They took my lover to the unknown, and I don’t know what to do anymore.

I wait every day by the door, But I know he will not come anymore.

Oh, you who watch me wait by the door.

War is hell, and you know it is.

My lover never came back, The door is no longer there, What are you still watching?

Mohammed Arafat

04/12/2024

Was One, Now Many

I was the only refugee in my family

Now the rest are

Half in exile, and another in the homeland Those in exile worry over those in the homeland Those in the homeland are scattered Some in the north and hungry

The others in the south and houseless And they all worry about those in exile The title is the same We all are refugees Though we can’t meet This is our story.

Mohammed Arafat

04/0512024

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Where Are We?

Where Are We?
This isn’t the life we were taught
My throat hurts
saying my name
And proving my humanity
Over and over again.

Instead of a response,
Bombs fall
Food drops
At the same time

I am human after all
Yet, abducted
My blood being shed
Tents are my new home
Survival requires payment,
Escape too.
Can’t escape, I have to pay to stay
And I already paid enough!

GoFundMe
Defines our social class.
More, better survival, and easy escape.
Less, loss!

I went to the United Nations,
Knocked on the door of every nation
To change my situation
But no response.

Security Council,
Finally responds,
Non-binding though.

But I already proved I am human,
When will it be binding?

Mohammed Arafat
03/29/2024

Not Normal

This war showed the beautiful,
The ugly,
The scary,
The traumatizing,
But also my smiles
And my hope
But still,
This is not normal

A month comes
Another gone
I don’t know what today is.
Is it Friday or Tuesday?
Time goes by
And I am still in a tent
This isn’t normal.

They fight,
Putting their hearts aside,
And they think it is normal.
“No responsibility,” they claim
You and me, they blame
While Gaza is shrouded in flame!
Aren’t they tired of seeking fame?

Can you tell me, if this is normal??

Mohammed Arafat
03/22/2024

Be You Blue or Green

I care but my family is there
be you blue, or green
you too should care

Argue all day,
The war’s start, not my sway
In a tent, my family still stay

Clinging to hope has been their call
That did not help,
did not feed,
did not house.

Innocence dies,
Darkest nights,
Lost sights,
Long fights,
With no guiding lights,
On the horizon.

Promise all you want
In a tent, my family still remain
yearning for a better life
not a bigger tent!

I care but my family is there
Be you blue or green
You too should care.

03/15/2024

Mohammed Arafat

There Is More to the Story

I didn’t just die
I was asleep
under the warm blanket
when the house shook
It shook again
It shook several times
The shakes woke me up
I heard the sound of explosions
low and deep
through the windows, through the doors, sounded like a ruthless force
The last shake felt like rending of metal
It came after I grabbed tight to my blanket
The warm blanket flew
and I fell
with the the house that was falling
The fall lasted for a few seconds
or maybe less than that
Flashbacks
memories
Deja vu
deja entendu
My room flattened to the ground
My blanket followed me and fell on
my motionless little body
and the remains of my room
and it was very cold.

Mohammed Arafat
03/11/2024

Waiting

I have been waiting for this moment

For a whole day

It’s almost sunset

My stomach rumbling

I sit alone

Excited

Around a big table

Waiting for my family members

To come join me

And start our gathering and share a good meal

To start off Ramadan like every year

The wait seems so long!

Silence filling the room

No one is around

“Where is everyone?” I am asking myself

Family members in the south

Sheltering in a tent

Living on their self-made hopes

And the radio

Some others in the north

I don’t know if they are hungry or more hungry

They are waiting for airdropped food

And aid trucks

For long hours

At night

Under the moon’s gaze

Beside flickering flames

They fall asleep

While waiting

And wake up without eating

03/08/2024

Mohammed Arafat