They left Gaza alone to face the beast,
The whole world watched, but spoke in feasts—
Of empty words and cold condemnations,
No action born from their declarations.
The Nation whispered but never stood,
While Gaza bled in the fire and flood.
They mastered speeches, yet lacked the will,
To change the fate, to break the kill.
But we are the owners of this ancient land,
Roots deep in soil, strong as sand.
Though crushed beneath the rubble’s weight,
Our spirit holds, defies the fate.
The oppressors roar, their shadows grow,
Yet truth’s bright voice will always glow.
No matter how loud the darkness screams,
Justice will rise from broken dreams.
Taqwa Ahmed Al-Wawi
Taqwa Ahmed Al-Wawi is a 19-year-old writer and poet from Gaza, currently a second-year English Literature student at the Islamic University of Gaza. As an emerging literary voice, she is dedicated to amplifying Gaza’s stories through her writing. In addition to contributing to We Are Not Numbers (WANN), her work has appeared in prominent outlets including The Electronic Intifada, Mondoweiss, The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, The Palestine Chronicle, The Markaz Review, Middle East Monitor, Al Jazeera, Middle East Eye, and The Massachusetts Review. Her poetry has also been published by the Gaza Poets Society.
Ahmed Header Ashour, a 23-year-old artist from Gaza, graduated last year with a degree in pharmacy. He says, “Art has always been my way of expressing what I carry inside. I chose to focus my drawings on the Palestinian cause to capture and convey the pain of our people—through war, hunger, death, and displacement.” His artwork titled, “A scene from Gaza by artist Ahmed” is the featured artwork for Taqwa’s poem.
