Ramallah by Bei Dao

Ramallah
by Bei Dao translated by Eliot Weinberger and Iona Man-Cheong
in Ramallah the ancients play chess in the starry sky the endgame flickers a bird locked in a clock jumps out to tell the time in Ramallah the sun climbs over the wall like an old man and goes through the market throwing mirror light on a rusted copper plate in Ramallah gods drink water from earthen jars a bow asks a string for directions a boy sets out to inherit the ocean from the edge of the sky in Ramallah seeds sown along the high noon death blossoms outside my window resisting, the tree takes on a hurricane's violent original shape

Bei Dao wrote this poem when he was visiting Palestine as part of the UN Peace delegation.
Poetry as an expression of freedom, poetry is a strong voice which can reach many generations.
Poetry offers us the freedom to explore many cultures and it brings together people and their different beliefs. Poetry represents friendship!


"Ramallah" by Bei Dao, from World Beat: International Poetry Now, copyright 200 by Zhao Zhenkai, Translation © Eliot Weinberger and Iona Man-Cheong. Reprinted by permission of New Directions Publishing Corp.