If Wishes were Winds: a call to action by ‘Goliath’

If wishes were winds,

you would not survive my storm.

If wishes were a force, 

a surge or a rupture,

I would make the earth,

swallow you whole.

I would grant you that,

which is your true self: 

Dead inside.

My breath is so strong,

I feel it rattling my core.

If wishes could move mountains, 

if wishes…

could move mountains,

you would not be spared 

the fury of my broken heart.

And if wishes had presence, 

I would crush this earth,

like a screaming light,

slicing and shattering your world.

But I am only a child, 

living in a makeshift tent 

made of broken existence,

of leftovers… and remnants,

of my mother, and my father 

and of all my friends,

and of all my people,

that your silence has killed.

I hope my pain stabs you.

And I don’t care 

when you tell me that you care,

I don’t care for your donations,

and I do not care for your prayers.

If wishes were a currency,

I wish my sorrow bankrupts you, 

bringing you to your knees.

I am not sorry for you, 

I blame you.

You all saw them bomb my school,

kill my teachers.

You let them murder my sister, 

destroy my house.

You watched them burn my books, 

and ruin my world.

And I hate knowing that your kids, 

get to keep their books and their toys, 

and get to keep their friends.

Yes, I am a monster, 

I am a child,

I am hurting,

but you keep turning a blind eye. 

I hope my pain stains your bed, 

rots your food, 

and poisons your water.

I am a child, 

and I cannot find love in my heart for you.

If wishes were tide, 

I would throw the oceans into the skies,

puncture the atmosphere, 

let the world seep dry.

I am not sorry for my wishes.

Only sorry you are the way you are:

Dead inside, lazy, lame, and a coward.

And yes, 

you are not comfortable with me, 

but soon you’ll forget me, 

once I die.

And go back to your shit life.

Listen…

Deep inside me,

I do not mean what I say,

but can’t you see,

what your silence has done?

Can’t you see, that one day,

they will run out of killing us,

and then.

they will come for you.

I am your only warning,

screaming at you,

I am your last hope.

Don’t let them get away with this.

Don’t let them destroy you, too.

By ‘Goliath’, a Palestinian New Zealander