We will Return

Abu Salma was born in 1907 in Haifa. He studied law and worked in Haifa until April 1948 when Israelis occupied the city. He then moved to Akka. Shortly he left Akka to Damascus. Abu Salma kept the keys to his house and office in Haifa hoping to return. He was a friend Ibrahim Tukan. Their love of poetry and Palestine built their friendship. Abu Salma wrote about his love and yearning to Palestine. He was awarded The Lotas International Reward for Literature in 1978 by The Association of Asian and African Writers. He was also given the title The Olive of Palestine. Abu Salma died in 1980.

Abdelkarim al-Karmi(Abu Salama)-1951

Beloved Palestine, how do I sleep
While the spectrum of torture is in my eyes
I purify the world with your name
And if your love did not tire me out,
I would've kept my feelings a secret
The caravans of days pass and talk about
The conspiracy of enemies and friends
Beloved Palestine! How do I live
Away from your plains and mounds?
The feet of mountains that are dyed with blood
Are calling meAnd on the horizon appears the dye
The weeping shores are calling me
And my weeping echoes in the ears of time
The escaping streams are calling me
They are becoming foreign in their land
Your orphan cities are calling meAnd your villages and domes
My friends ask me, "Will we meet again?"
"Will we return?"
Yes! We will kiss the bedewed soil
And the red desires are on our lips
Tomorrow, we will returnAnd the generations will hear
The sound of our footsteps
We will return along with the storms
Along with the lightening and meteors
Along with the hope and songs
Along with the flying eagle
Along with the dawn that smiles to the deserts
Along with the morning on the waves of the sea
Along with the bleeding flags
And along with the shining swords and spears