What does it mean to be a poet in a time of war?

By Hend Joudah ● 2026

Original Arabic

English Translation

What does it mean to be a poet in a time of war?
It means that you apologize.
You apologize excessively to the burnt-out tree.
To the birds without nests
To the flattened houses

To the long cracks in the road’s midsection
To the children, pallid in death and before it
And to the face of every grieving or murdered mother
What does it mean to be safe in a time of war?
It means you are ashamed

It means you are ashamed of your smile
Of your warmth
Of your clean clothes
Of your boredom
Of your yawning

Of your cup of coffee

Of your undisturbed sleep
Of your beloved alive
Of your satiety

Of accessible water
Of clean water
Of your ability to bathe

And the coincidence that you are still alive
Oh God!
I do not wish to be this poet in a time of war!

Hend Joudah is a Palestinian poet who was born in 1983 in the Al-Bureij refugee camp in Gaza. She writes poetry and short stories. She has been published and has written scripts for many documentaries. She has also worked in radio production and with Workers’ Radio in Gaza. She produced and presented a show called “Good Morning, Homeland” for Radio Al-Hurriya in Gaza. She has published four poetry collections. She also has won the Appreciation Prize by the Youth Ideas Association for her short story and the Golden Prize at the Arab Youth Gathering Festival in Cairo in 2006.

Posted in: Poetry