I am the stranger

I am the stranger / The shadow beneath the cloud / Adrift and looming over my land

Artwork by Bint Bandora, titled “Resistance Until Reclamation”

Poem by Bassam Jamil, translated by Nicole Mankinen

I am the stranger
The shadow beneath the cloud
Adrift and looming over my land
Only the cloud beckons 
It has its purpose for me
I succumb to its atmosphere
Levitate and fall in billowing drifts 
I am pulled in all directions
But my desire, oh cloud, is higher
Let it rise to the peak of Ramah
To overlook my postponed destiny
Send the wind that pushes me 
I am spent yet full of readiness
And smiling through my breathless facade 
Into thunder and storm I become the rain
The roots of my land absorb me
Renewed, I start again

Bassam Jamil

Bassam Jamil is a Palestinian writer living in the Galilee refugee camp near Baalbek, Lebanon. He has
published two collections of short stories and a novel, and his play “Death Boats” was shortlisted at the
Sundance Festival in Morocco (2016).

Nicole Mankinen

Nicole Mankinen is a settler with European heritage living in Toronto, Canada. She is a freelance editor
and writer and a lifelong advocate for the Palestinian cause.

Bint Bandora

I’m a Palestinian-American artist known as Bint Bandora. I found artistic inspiration early on from my ancestral roots. Despite being far from the Homeland, I see my art as a bridge connecting me to Palestine and its People. I hope to use my creativity to inspire conversation and action for Palestine and as a reminder that Liberation is coming.

‹Also in this Issue›
My Gifts from Gaza

Yousef Abu-Salah

Baba once mentioned how Palestinians were the patient dough of the Taboon. No matter how much we are kneaded, beaten, and stretched beyond our limits, our capacity for hope is supernatural. Taboon, even burnt beyond recognition, is still Taboon.

‹ Past Issues ›
18:

Omens - Spirits & Specters

February 2024
Art by Fadia Jawdat
17:

Palestinian Perspectives

October 2023
16:

Omens - The Recurring Dream of the Water Mothers

September 2023
15:

Omens - Mothers In Our Own Light

August 2023
14:

Omens - Reimagined Currencies

July 2023
13:

Omens - Impossible Homes

June 2023
12:

Omens - Between Worlds

May 2023
11:

Contested Histories

Fall 2022
10:

Afghan Women: A Polyphony

Spring 2022
9:

Her Traces

Winter 2022
8:

Unpeopled Terrain

Fall 2021
7:

Flash the Coup / Stories from Myanmar

Spring 2021
6:

White Deeds

Winter 2021
5:

Policy Recommendations: Poets Intervene

Fall 2020
Issue 4:

Kashmir: Silence Is Not An Option

Summer 2020