Privilege- A Poem for Palestine

In the midst of the genocide in Gaza, I protested using the only way I knew how to, so I wrote the words down and I hoped people would listen, but hesitated to post it anywhere else due to my anxiety of being judged by others, but I came to the conclusion that I need to be the voice for the people who can’t speak. I wrote this poem to stand with the people of Palestine and to protest against the systems that prevent aid from reaching them.

As I lie here in my nice warm bed, A sweet boy lies still, without a head.

A girl lies limp without an arm,

These people’s lives, filled with harm

A mother cries for her children, gone,

While the young of nations sing their songs.

The kids just want to go to school,

But leaders only care if it makes their bank accounts pool.

As I sit here beside an open fire,

A man is dead, hanging from a wire.

Nobody can hear the people’s screams

Because the world is too busy looking at their screens.

As I sit here in the safety of my home,

There are children starved, to the bone.

Their skies are full of fire and smoke,

More cries for help, in search of hope.

As I lie here in my nice warm bed,

A genocide is happening, three hours ahead.

A sweet boy lies without a head,

And a baby cries, not knowing that her parents are dead.

About the Writer: Jas Counihan is a 16 year old, aspiring poet from County Meath, Ireland. Her poem, ‘Privilege’, won an award within her school last year, but after months of contemplation, she has finally decided to share her poem with the rest of the world as a form of protest against the systems allowing atrocities to happen and to stand in solidarity with the oppressed.