By Samah Sabawi

Gaza in its 43rd year of Israeli occupation

The landscape constantly changes

Only the sea remains the same

Salty…

Fluid…

Mysterious…

Moody

A consistent presence amid the chaos

Its whooshing waves whisper tales

Of occupiers that have come and gone

Crusaders, tyrants and warlords

Riding on their horses

Riding on their Tanks

Riding on their F16 fighter jets

Always riding through

Leaving their footprints

And part of their history

Leaving their artifacts and ruins

Leaving fire and debris

Always leaving…

Only the sea remains

A cure for the trail of broken lives left behind

A landmark untouched by human greed and destruction

Oblivious to war occupation and aggression

Defiant to the rules of man

It embraces the shores of a battered city

It makes a mockery

Of those who try to break its spirit

Those who think they can contain

Its one and a half million beating hearts

There is no limit to the sea’s audacity

It breaks the siege every day,

One defiant wave at a time

Connecting Gaza to the rest of the world

And connecting the world with the Shati refugee camp

If you stood with your back to Gaza facing the sea

You can imagine you are some place else

Beirut, Barcelona, Alexandria or Santorini

You can dream of the promise of what lays

Beyond the horizon

Countries, continents the whole world is out there

If only you could ride the sea

If only your body was bullet proof

If only your boat was made of steel

If only your dream was real

The landscape will change again
Only the sea will remain the same

Its whooshing waves will whisper new tales

Of occupiers that have come and gone…

– Samah Sabawi is a writer playwright and poet. She was born in Gaza and is currently residing in Melbourne Australia. She contributed this poem to PalestineChronicle.com.