Mrs. Kathryn Habib : Does anyone hear me?
A Poem Shared in Honor of the Voiceless People of Gaza During the Churches for Middle East Peace Christmas Ceasefire Service
A Poem Shared in honor of the voiceless people of Gaza by Mrs. Kathryn Habib, the wife of the late Secretary General of the Middle East council of churches Gabriel Gergi Habib. The Prayer was held on December 11, 2023, during the Churches for Middle East Peace Christmas Ceasefire Service in The New York Avenue Presbyterian Church, Washington, DC.
You can also find below an Album in which within you can find the program held during the Service.
Thank you CMEP for gathering us together today. I am honored to share this poem in the hope that it may lend voice to the voiceless and honor their memory. May their memory be eternal.
GAZA
Kathryn Habib
Does anyone hear me?
Does anyone hear me
as I lie here
buried
under tons of rubble
mangled
breathless
the blood gone from my veins
moistening the dirt
that holds me in its embrace
never expecting it would have to do this
but always ready to welcome me,
receiving my body
embracing it
as it embraces a seed.
In my arms is my child,
All around me are my family.
We lie together in earth’s embrace.
It is deadly silent down here
and my body is cold
but the earth is warm.
It holds me firmly.
It covers me and my child and all my loved ones.
And in its warm embrace
I hear it tenderly say
Don’t worry
La ta ta zaza
I am here for you
I will not let you go.
And although I am dead
I weep
at that promise
And I am enlivened by it
And I hug my baby and embrace all those around me.
I call to those above the ground
where I am buried
Of course, I have no voice
I am in death’s embrace
But they hear me!
I want to comfort them
They are so valiant and steadfast
But they are frightened
unto death.
A prayer emerges
from my body and my blood
here underground
held in the earth’s embrace.
The prayer is
Allahu akbar,
Yes, God is greater
God is greater than all this evil, all this suffering.
This prayer reassures me.
My heart beats!
I hear these words:
“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”
Our ancestors were shepherds.
Then I remember the words
“Take
“Eat
This is my body broken for you”
I am hungry
And I eat.
“And this is the blood
of the new covenant
Drink of it,
All of you.”
And I drink the wine
I am thirsty
And I pray for a new covenant.
And I begin to feel warm
the earth embracing me more tightly
And I cry out to those still alive above me
and to their children.
Bombs falling all around them
and I tell them
Do not be afraid
La ta ta zaza
And I hope they hear me
over the bombs, the screaming, the crying, the horror
As I lie here
mangled and dead
I want to share with them
The earth’s warmth
and tell them
I am with you.
Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy, Lord have mercy
Ya raburham, ya raburham, ya raburham
Allahu akbar. God is greater.
Can you hear me?
I love you.
