| Walls By Mike Odetalla Why do you build walls? Do you build these walls so that no one can see? No witnesses to mourn for the fallen tree? The olive, the fig, and the almond ... They were here long before you came to be What about the farmer? What will his children see? Walls of concrete and steel A secure prison, A ghetto “Concentrated” In images of darkness Warsaw? Berlin? History repeats itself Though you refuse to see There are questions I must ask… Can an olive grow on a column of steel and cement? What kind of “fruit” will you harvest from this tree? Where will the dove build its nest? Where will I seek shelter from the blistering sun? Like the thousands, before you came to be? The walls you build May conceal the brutality, Yet who is the one that needs to hide Is it you or is it me? Something to think about As you set about to imprison… Is it you or is it me? Who needs the walls? Who is the prisoner? And who is the one truly free? Walls imprison the body Not so the mind and soul No walls, No matter how high they reach for the heavens, Can contain the human spirit Longing to be free… Mike Odetalla 11-03 |
| Oppression is not eternal By Mike Odetalla Flakes of white fall from the Sky and the earth below is rendered quite Illusions of Purity and white as the Snow covers what lies beneath it The ground waits and bides its time for it has secrets to tell For it knows that Winter is not eternal That days grow longer and night less Soon the warm rays of the Sun will prevail and the Snow will melt away to reveal what's hidden The warm and bright rays of freedom are coming Oh people of Palestine! Oppression is not eternal... Mike Odetalla 2001 |
| A Dream By Mike Odetalla One day I awoke In my mother’s home In Palestine I jumped out of bed To the window I ran As I pulled back the curtains of time I could clearly see A wall so stunning I had to rub my eyes Is this a dream? A wall of beauty A wall of olive trees as far as the eye could see Everywhere I looked Olive trees swaying in the morning breeze I called out my mother’s name "Come and see nature’s wall" Olive trees as far as the eye can see And the people! Oh my! The people were running and laughing Happily Then suddenly I felt someone gently nudging me From behind I closed my eyes and opened them again I was no longer in my mother’s home I was in my own bed I got up and looked out the window The trees were bare The cold winds were blowing In the darkness And there was not a single olive tree in sight It was a dream A beautiful, but cruel dream I went back to bed Hoping, praying that the dream would come back to me But to no avail I closed my eyes and concentrated as hard as I could But the only images that came to me Were the cruel Images of an uprooted olive tree And the people who were running and laughing merrily? The only image that came to me Was an image of my mother Weeping under an olive tree… I awoke to type this poem So everyone can share in my dream And misery… 11-09-03 This was an actual dream that I had last night. I could not get the images out of my head. I had spent the night reading about the many olive trees that are routinely destroyed by the Israeli government and the Jewish settlers. I was also reading about the wall and went to bed thinking of these things…I live in the US where it is rather cold this time of the year… Mike |
| Free Bird By Mike Odetalla I had a bird that was pretty as can be it sang and whistled just for me Its cage was a beauty gilded with gold the best money could buy truth be told the best water and food I gave so that bird had nothing to crave then one day I left the door ajar and out he flew high and far I waited and waited for his return all in vain as my cage he did spurn for no matter how hard I had tried his taste for freedom could not be denied I can't help but wonder why anyone would prefer a cage to the open sky It was so plain to see all he ever wanted from me was to be FREE... Mike Odetalla 2000 |
| POEMS |