Why I Love Secrets and Lies

You learn to make your gods as small as a coffee cup and hide your future in it

Artwork by Dina Fawakhiri 
When the empires come for you you learn to hide it all

You learn to wind it inside strands of cloth
each clank of the loom a closing door

turn the spoon around the bowl clockwise then counter

add your spells into a pot of soup, a cup of tea,
something they can’t force you to live

without

tell it to your children at bedtime
until the shadows grow long in the corner of the room,
open the doors and walk out into the hills

Your underground means you’re underground
They didn’t try to bury us but annihilate us
some seeds die in the dark of the soil and some take well to burning

You learn to make your gods as small as a coffee cup and hide your future in it

The key to the land of the dead is inside a seed
we will return there each year

write your prayers in a new language and bend it to your will
keep it inside a filigreed silver box around your neck

A blue bead
a blue thread
to embroider the flag of an invisible indivisible nation onto your dress

You learn to sing in a secret language
for the prisoner’s ear only

In the end, what is left of every empire?
A few coins, a few iron nails rusting in the bottom of the river,
half remembered monuments and names

But our shadows are still striding the hills at dusk and the wind moves through our olive trees

Veera Sulaiman

Veera Sulaiman is a Finnish Palestinian writer, organizer, Tatreez artist and herbalist. Her written work explores the intersections of mixed identity, language, intergenerational memory, animism, art as resistance and propaganda as art. As a descendant of Palestinian refugees she is interested in chronicling how our worlds continue to end and what endures after those calamities.

Dina Fawakhiri

Dina Fawakhiri is an artist, children’s books illustrator and calligrapher known for her impactful work. Her artistic journey, rooted in a love for pencil drawings, progressed through a Graphic Design degree and her advertising experience. Thriving in the digital realm, she creates bold, surreal artwork characterized by vibrant colors and meticulous detail.

Amidst a 15-year advertising career, Dina embraced mentorship and coaching, even engaging in award committees and speaking at TEDx. Her Creative Director role saw her merging unique perspectives and techniques with brand storytelling.

As a result, Dina’s illustrations today harmonize imagination and technique, gaining recognition through awards and gallery exhibitions. A perpetual learner, she pushes artistic boundaries, inspiring the creative community. Her passion for the Arabic language also led her to Arabic calligraphy and venturing into children's books, where she illustrated over 20 Arabic titles since 2016, to further foster a love for the language.

‹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.