New Poetry from & for Gaza: ‘You Don’t Need Your Glasses, Santa’

You Don’t Need Your Glasses, Santa

By Basman Aldirawi

Translated by Tala Ladki

Do you see that black cloud over there, Santa?

There used to be a child from Gaza, waiting for a present.

Waiting to go out with his father to the Unknown Soldier’s Square:

To ride the little cars there.

To go to the beach.

To play with the sand and the waves.

To buy a cup of corn.

Then to go home, to sleep

under the sound of the buzzing, hovering warplanes:

the ones the child thought were a part of the sky,

………….the sounds of the universe.

Did he tell you about his dreams before he slept?

What were they?

Did he dream about living, growing old?

Or maybe, like other children, he told you that children in Gaza don’t grow old.

You don’t need to put on your glasses, Santa.

See that black cloud over there, the one that rose up from the bombings just a few hours ago?

Under it lie the murdered bodies of the child,

………….his father, his mother, and his siblings.

Under it lie the toys, the house,

………….and the whole neighborhood.

And an unanswered list of hopes and dreams.

لست بحاجة لارتداء نظاراتك، سانتا

هل ترى تلك السحابة السوداء هناك يا سانتا؟

هناك كان طفل من غزة

ينتظر هدية

ينتظر أن يخرج مع ابيه

إلى منتزه الجندي المجهول

أن يركب السيارات الصغيرة هناك

أن يذهب إلى البحر

يلعب مع الرمال والأمواج

ويشتري كوب من الذرة

ثم يعود إلى البيت لينام

تحت صوت الطائرة الزنانة

التي ظن الطفل أنها جزء من السماء وأصوات الكون

هل أخبرك عن أحلامه قبل أن ينام؟

ماذا كانت؟

هل حلم ان يعيش ويكبر؟

أو ربما أخبرك كطفل اخر أن الأطفال في غزة لا يكبرون؟

لست بحاجة لارتداء نظاراتك، سانتا

تلك السحابة السوداء الظاهرة هناك

المرتفعة من قصف قبل ساعات

قتل تحتها الطفل والأب والام والاخوة

قتل تحتها ألعاب وبيت وشارع

ولائحة غير مستلمة من الأمنيات والأحلام

Basman Aldirawi (also published as Basman Derawi) is a physiotherapist and a graduate of Al-Azhar University in Gaza in 2010. Inspired by an interest in music, movies, and people with special needs, he contributes dozens of stories to the online platform We Are Not Numbers.

Tala Ladki is from Beirut, Lebanon. After graduating with a BA in Media and Communications, she worked in marketing for several years before deciding to switch gears. She’s currently pursuing her MA in Creative Writing in hopes of starting a career in writing and publishing.