On her 20th birthday في عيد الميلاد العشرين

I have translated this poem (and song) written by Egyptian
poet Ahmad Fuad Nagem and sang by Sheikh Imam. This goes back to the
70's


On her 20th birthday
A young woman from Palestine
Stood contemplating her present
In a land covered with dirt

Behind the barbed wires
She has lived days and years
Between the darkness of the past
A buried longing
And a present
Slowly moving
Where is the future
When the people is hounded and jailed

Should my unfortunate young woman
Return to liberate Palestine?
Or should she cry and moan
As in the past?

I defy you o future
I will come back strong and aware
And wipe the tear off my mother's cheek
And place a knife in her hand
And give my uncle his life back
And a cannon for his shoulder
Offer him the shining hope
My hope is to come back one day
To my beloved land
To the fragrant roses
Power terrifies me no more
My arms have become strong