Kamal Nasser

Kamal Nasser Poems

Kamal Nasser Biography

Kamal Butros Nasser (1925 – 9 or 10 April 1973) was an Palestinian political leader, writer and poet. Nasser was born in Bir Zeit in 1925 to a Palestinian Christian family. He was educated at Bir Zeit school (now Bir Zeit University). Then he studied political science at the American University of Beirut and graduated in 1945. Later he worked as a teacher while studying law in Jerusalem. In the period following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, Nasser worked as a journalist. He was responsible for producing the al-Ba‘ath newspaper from Ramallah and also set up al-Jil al-Jadid (The New Era), a militant newspaper. In 1956 he was elected to Jordanian parliament as Ba‘ath member for Ramallah district. He did not serve out his term as a result of his expulsion from Parliament during the subsequent martial law period in Jordan. Expelled from West Bank by Israel in 1967, Nasser became editor of the PLO newspaper, Filastin al-Thawra. In addition, at that time he became a member of PLO Executive Committee from February 1969 to July 1971 serving as an official with the office of National Guidance. In 1970, he was also spokesman for the committee. In addition, he served as spokesman for the PLO. Nasser was assassinated in West Beirut by Israel Defense Forces in the 1973 Israeli raid on Lebanon (Operation Spring of Youth) on the night of 9 April 1973. Israeli forces also killed Kamal Adnan and Mohammed Yousef Najjar in the same attack. One of the soldiers involved was reportedly Ehud Barak, dressed up as a woman, who later became prime minister of Israel)

The Best Poem Of Kamal Nasser

The Last Poem

Beloved, if perchance word of my death reaches you
As, alone, you fondle my only child
Eagerly awaiting my return,
Shed no tears in sorrow for me
For in my homeland
Life is degradation and wounds
And in my eyes the call of danger rings.
Beloved, if word of my death reaches you
And the lovers cry out:
The loyal one has departed, his visage gone forever,
And fragrance has died within the bosom of the flower
Shed no tears...smile on life
And tell my only one, my loved one,
The dark recesses of your father's being
Have been touched by visions of his people.
Splintered thoughts bestowed his path
As he witnessed the wounds of oppression.
In revolt, he set himself a goal
He became a martyr, sublimated his being
even changed his prayers
Deepened their features and improvised
And in the long struggle his blood flowed
His lofty vision unfolded shaking even destiny.
If news reaches you, and friends come to you,
Their eyes filled with cautious concern
Smile to them in kindness
For my death will bring life to all;
My people's dreams are my shrine
at which I pray, for which I live.
The ecstacy of creation warms my being, shouting of joy,
Filling me with love, as day follows day,
Enveloping my struggling soul and body.
Immortalized am I in the hearts of friends
I live only in others' thoughts and memories.
Beloved, if word reaches you and you fear for me
Should you shudder and your cheeks grow pale
As pale as the face of the moon,
Allow it not to look upon you, nor
feast on the beauty of your gaze
For I am jealous of the light of the moon.
Tell my only one, for I love him,
That I have tasted the joy of giving
And my heart relishes the wounds of sacrifice.
There is nothing left for him
Save the sighs from my song...Save the remnants of my lute
Lying piled and scattered in our house.
Tell my only one if he ever visits my grave
And yearns for my memory,
Tell him one day that I shall return
- to pick the fruits.

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