1.
Our elderly clutch rusty keys to ancient doors,
their humble abodes pillaged generations ago,
where once fragrant orange trees would grow.
Our elderly do not forget.
They are the keys to the freedom of Palestine.
Our young hurl stones at the oppressors' metallic beasts,
as their brutal steel wreaks havoc.
Our young do not forget.
They are the keys to the freedom of Palestine.
Our mothers have shed a deluge of tears,
their cheeks rarely dry.
Our mothers do not forget.
Our mothers' tears are the keys to the freedom of Palestine.
2.
Our time will come.
Our cause is just.
We seek no retribution,
we crave no bloodlust,
we stand as one to reclaim what is ours:
These mangled olive groves,
These poisoned wells,
These crushed oases.
Nature does not forget.
Nature breathes within the delicate tendrils of every vine.
Bounteous nature herself holds the keys to the freedom of Palestine.
3.
We will return,
this desolate void of exile will end.
Our struggles will continue,
as our dignity we unflinchingly defend.
Our struggle is infused in your veins and mine.
Our struggles are the keys to the freedom of Palestine.
4.
We have been torn apart by the shrapnel of F-16s,
multitudes of human beings reduced to blood soaked shreds.
These torn shreds contain a multitude of threads.
The flag of our freedom shall be woven by each of these countless threads.
These threads that around each thud-thudding heart do entwine.
These threads are the keys to the freedom of Palestine.
5.
We who have borne witness to the seething blood of our people.
The blood of our sisters,
our fathers.
The blood of our brothers,
our mothers.
The blood of defiance spilled while steadfastly holding the line.
Every drop of blood is a key to the freedom of Palestine.
6.
We hear you,
your leaders and your kings' deafeningly mute shock.
We see you,
your diplomats warmly embraced by the vultures' flock.
We have known your ilk for decades,
your cowardly charade of toothlessly ineffectual fuss.
We have known your ilk for decades,
you who have crafted the art of perennially forsaking us.
We have known your ilk for decades,
your bloviating drivel droning on as you whine.
We have known your ilk for decades,
you have taught us much.
Every lesson holds a key to the freedom of Palestine.
7.
Our collective memory is seared in our minds.
The memories of those who have fallen in war.
The memories of those who are imprisoned by exile.
The memories of those with an unshakeable core.
The memories of those we honour.
The memories of all whom we dare not defile.
Our memories.
Our memory.
Our collective memory will be the key to the freedom of Palestine.
Our memories.
Our memory.
This shared memory strengthens our slingshots.
Our slingshots are the keys to the freedom of Palestine.
Amandla-Intifada!
The Struggle Continues!
Written by Afzal Moolla
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