What the Revolution Taught Me
- What the Revolution Taught Me
That death ispossible,that words can
stampede like elephantswho walk in thousandstowards the water.
That your tongue is notmade of iron or lead,that you could drop
this silence you holdlike a tray of steaming cups,drop it, do try,
and you will realizethat it burnslike a gas bomb in your hand,
that the fallis not as long as you thought it is,that the earth is closer
than you think.That the world is stillconquerable,
that this is only possiblewithout blood and withblood.
That blood is red,like you expected, [End Page 53] and that it scares you.
That fear upon fear upon fearupon fear upon fear finallymakes courage. [End Page 54]
Zeina Hashem Beck is a Lebanese poet with a BA and an MA in English Literature from the American University of Beirut. She lives in Dubai with her husband and two daughters. Her poems have been published or are forthcoming in journals like Poetry Northwest, Nimrod, Folio, Copper Nickel, Crosstimbers, and Mizna, among others. She reads regularly with the Poeticians, a Dubai/Beirut poetry performance group. Her work has been nominated for a 2014 Pushcart Prize.
