By Ahmed Masoud

In her eyes, stillness
In her eyes, promises
In her eyes, hope remains.

Nothing but comfort
no battles of life, no pain of the past, no worries of the future
nothing but an oath of happiness

She speaks softly in my ears, whispering dreams
spreading her arms around me, wrapping me up with gentleness away from fear,
away from struggle.

Her smile is the joy of my day, soft, tender and ecstatic
a jubilation of victory, embroidery of my life.

In her eyes, pride
the sea colour invites me to sail far from wounds I have known
from the shouts of many, from checkpoints and wired fences,
from oppression and the silent scream of pain, from muted tears
from slaughtered souls.

In her eyes, I see myself
a human again

In her eyes, my love dwells

Ahmed Masoud is a Palestinian academic, writer and director. In 2005, he founded the Al-Zaytouna dance and theatre group. With award-winning British writer/director Justin Butcher he co-wrote/directed the successful play Go to Gaza, Drink the Sea (2009) staged in London and at the Edinburgh Fringe and the BBC Radio 4 play 'Escape from Gaza'. He was a recent winner, with his novel 'Gaza Days' at the British Muslim Writers Awards 2011. His website is www.ahmedmasoud.co.uk.