Jerusalem-forum@wanadoo.jo

 Ahmed Dahbour

Palestinian Poets

Dahbour was born in Haifa in 1946, but has lived in exile since 1948. Dahbour worked as a political editor for the Palestinian Broadcasting Agency in Syria in 1972.

He also worked as a reporter for the Fateh movement Newspaper and was editor in chief of Tunis magazine in 1988. He has returned to Palestine and lives in Gaza City where he works as a Director General in the ministry of culture. Because of material reasons, he received no formal education, but read avidly.

His sensitive poetry is dedicated to the Palestinian cause. He has published several collections of poetry. He was awarded the 1998 Palestine Award for Poetry.

New Suggestions
Out of what lair did the earthly tyrants escape?
Nero burned Rome twice, then composed a discordant tune
he went on playing till the city sang with him.
Holako who inherited that melody
set fire
to the world's library, the river ran
with ink, and from the ashes was born
the language of the locusts which rose
to thank the madman.
After the salutations to madness, Hitler came
(..) but unable to be appeased,
had to include the sea
in his vital destruction,
and war at sea, turmoil on land,
combined in their angry conflagration.
I too have seen a tyrant-
whose power diminished the other three.
he has committed every atrocity,
and yet: in his day,
there were five poets,
who took to silence.