Since 17 April, some 2000 prisoners in Israeli jails embarked on an open-ended hunger strike to protest the conditions of their detention. News about an imminent deal mediated by Egypt and the Palestinian National Authority with Israel to respond to the prisoners' demand have spread on Monday. Many celebrated the news as victory for the prisoners' steadfast resistance.
Palestinian Poet and Professor of Political Science Sharif Elmusa wrote the following poem in tribute to the prisoners of Israeli jails.
When I entered the cell
I looked at the ceiling
it was moving
coming down
harassing me
I smoked a cigarette
I touched my nose
with a fresh one
as if to remind myself why I smoked
I kept shifting the end in my mouth
like someone sifting through his vague thoughts
some days I inhaled four packs
and expelled a dozen demons
I kept a bucket of water by my side
to moisten my dry mouth
cool my agitated guts
and bring my pulse down
when I ate my eyes stared into the distance
away from the rotten food
I sang songs to remember
the glow of the moon
summer’s ripe fruit
I listened to her Sirens voice
two tones lower
than the voice of the day woman
I felt I was the intended sailor
before my time came
One inmate confided to me
that when his cellmate lost his head
he asked the warden
to give him a moment
after which he kneeled before the head
kissed it
held it against his chest
and told the warden
to do what he was paid to do
When I went back to my hole
I heard the warden’s footsteps
approach the steel door
I lifted my head up
and watched the insinuation of the ceiling.
