Habibi Was – 4th June 2025

Frustrated at every turn,
Invisible lines not to be crossed,
Random security searches,
Only finding all liberties lost;

Or checkpoints to clock in,

To be grateful for a shekel or two,
A home is not a home,
When one’s life becomes taboo;

Constant eyes are trained,
Machine guns held at the ready,
Deliberate provocations,
Ensure all balance remains unsteady;

So Habibi threw a stone,
A piece of protest found underfoot,
A frustrated release,
That was so ineloquently put;

It bounced off the tank,
Where no one was hurt by this token,
For this, he got a bullet in the head,
And another family heartbroken.

The title is a play on the Bob Marley song ‘Johnny Was’