Poetry

See the four first minutes of the following video. It is a video about Gaza’s war. After watching it, only if you wish, try to find more information about Gaza’s war in the wikipedia (see the link below). Read and listen in this blog the poem “The Clock on the Wall” and find the relationship between the video and the poem.The Clock on the Wall
My city collapsed
The clock was still on the wall
Our neighbourhood collapsed
The clock was still on the wall
The street collapsed
The clock was still on the wall
The square collapsed
The clock was still on the wall
The house collapsed
The clock was still on the wall
The wall collapsed
The clockTicked on.

By Samih Al-Qasim
a) There are examples of repetition in this poem. Why do you think the poet used this technique? b) The wars seem to be a constant repetition. Can you see any similaryty between the repetition in the poem and the repetition of the bombing? c) Translate the poem to your language ..In the second link you will also be able to have the opportunity of seeing  the author reading one of his poems in his language, Arabic.///See these links: About Gaza’s War, About Samih Al-Qasim