I was listening to the songs of the gifted Syrian artist, `Abid `Azriyyah (who lives in France, and who is not well-known in the Arab world because Lebanon is busy promoting this song by Mansur Rahabni: "I love you O Lebanon, O my homeland, I love you. From you south, from your north, and from your plains, I love you....") in the GYM. I strongly recommend his first CD called Aromates. I especially like his rendition of this great poem--which makes me teary-eyed no matter how many times I read it or listen to it. I have posted it before but here it is again:

From the poem I Call On You by Palestinian poet Tawfiq Zayyad (my translation):
“I call on you
I press your hands
I kiss the ground under your feet
and I say: I sacrifice myself for you
I give you as a gift
the light of my eyes
and the warmth of heart, I give you
My tragedy that I live
Is my share of your tragedies
I call on you
I press your hands
I kiss the ground under your feet
and I say: I sacrifice myself for you
I did not humiliate myself in my homeland
and I did not lower my shoulders
I stood facing my oppressors
orphaned, naked, and bare foot
I call on you
I press your hands
I kiss the ground under your feet
and I say: I sacrifice myself for you
I carried my blood on my palm
I never lowered my flags
and I cared for the green grass
over the graves of my ancestors”