GRAINS OF SAND                                                                                             

by Shifra Shomron

Grains and grains of golden sand
White foam of waves spraying
My roots are deep in you, my land,
Like the acacia near me swaying.

Few weeds: some here there more
Scattered by nature's careless hand
"A Scotland for the poor"  
Yet I love you, my land.

A desert arid and bare
With a special grace and charm
My memories you share
Of times of joy and times of harm.  

Tracks of turtle and of snake
Tracks of man, child and pet
See the pattern that they make
Don't destroy that pattern yet!

The people simple and sweet
Sometimes foolish, always kind
You they'll always be glad to greet
The same fate does you bind.

Our lives so calmly passed here
Like the gentle waves of sea
Then, drowned in five years of fear
Outward calmness hid the torrent in me.

Red tiled roofs how snug you lie
Upon walls so very white!
Here we live and here some die
As to keep you we still fight.

Oh seashells pink and fair
Oh blossoms gold and round
When mortars fall who would dare
To lift you from the ground?

I hide inside my room
Until they say "all clear."
Or just ignore the boom
Though danger is quite near.

And fences all around me;
We are caged in like a lion.
They say it's for our safety
Can this be happening in Zion?!

I feel so alone;
Arab and Jew hate us.
We're to be tossed like a bone
With very little fuss.

Prayer vigils, blocking streets,
Orange streamers, going door to door
During sunshine and during sleets
How to save us?
We aren't sure.

Still, a plover in the sky
Curiously looks down
The Gush seen from high
Is like a diamond in a crown!

Oh grains and grains of golden sand
What is to be my fate?
Shall I lose you from my land
Shall I lose you from my state?

Shifra Shomron is the author of GRAINS OF SAND: THE FALL OF NEVE DEKALIM 2007, Mazo Publishers.

Travel beyond time and beyond location into Gush Katif. 

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