By Maja Pelević*
This poem has been submitted by playwright and theatre director Maja Pelević, who is the main host of DiEM Voice TV and has featured in previous DiEM25 TV episodes with Tariq Ali and Boris Buden.
Maja was inspired by Mahmoud Darwish’s poem and the message that Yanis Varoufakis gave on the 72nd Anniversary of Nakba. She remembers all the injustice we have been participating in, all the oppressed that we couldn’t help, and all the inhumanity happening around us while in our backyard it remains business as usual.
IF ONLY WE WERE CANDLES IN THE DARK
As you liberate yourself in metaphor, think of others
(those who have lost the right to speak)
As you think of others far away, think of yourself
(say: “If only I were a candle in the dark”)
from the poem “Think of Others” by Mahmoud Darwish
As we self-isolate comfortably in our houses staying healthy and safe, we should think of others
(and never forget there are people who can’t afford to stay protected, or don’t even have homes)
As we eat our tasty, oh, so tasty asparagus, we should think of others
(and never forget they are the ones that brought it to our table)
As we put on our nice clothes and look in the mirror, we should think of others
(and never forget the sweatshops, poor working conditions, unfair wages and child labor that contributed to that image)
As we look at the world collapsing before our eyes, we should think of others
(and never forget they are the ones that will be hit hardest)
As we consider ourselves smarter, trying to impose our “freedom”, we should think of others
(and never forget all the wars and killing done for “democracy”)
As we use political correctness in the name of absolute truth, we should think of others
(and never forget that we don’t own the truth)
As we easily use big words thinking we are fighting for a good cause, we should think of others
(and never forget they are at this very moment fighting for their lives)
As we sometimes believe all people are equal, but some are more so, we should think of others
(and never forget the little fascist that lies in all of us)
As we put ourselves above somebody else, we should think of others
(and never forget that what goes up, must come down)
As we are trying to reinvent the world, we should think of others
(and never forget that we are not the only ones who want this change)
*This poem was originally published on DiEM25’s main website on 19/05/2020