International Poetry Circle

Welcome to the #InternationalPoetryCircle! Here's where it began on March 15th – with @TaraSkurtu inviting people to connect through poetry at a time when unprecedented social isolation is vital to save lives worldwide. This account will RT all videos tweeted to the hashtag.

Missouri is set to execute Marcellus Williams today at 6 p.m. CT despite evidence of his innocence. Marcellus, a father and imam, wrote the below poem for the children of Gaza while imprisoned. Text Marcellus to 97016 to help save his life and keep urging @GovParsonMO to let Marcellus live.

Between the sound of the sea and the sound of war, the voice of poetry prevails.

TAKE ACTION for @freedom_theatre producer Mustafa Sheta: theculturalintifada.com/mustafa-sheta #FreeMustafaSheta

Culture is a form of resistance. Art is a form of resistance. Solidarity with @freedom_theatre. We demand the release of The Freedom Theatre Producer Mustafa Sheta, who was taken by the IOF on Dec 13. Permanent Ceasefire Now. Free Palestine. Artists, writers, poets, speak up!📢

CALL TO ACTION, poets and poetry lovers!

The Moon by @MosabAbuToha

Letter to the pilot returning to base after bombing Gaza (poem by Nasser Rabah) instagram.com/reel/C2Sc-DHIc…

Game of Thrones stars and other actors read South Africa's case file charging Israel with genocide at the #ICJ

I wrote this poem two months ago. Never thought that the massacres would still be ongoing two months later… The last poem Kill them, kill them all, So you can finally go to sleep Only idiots fear the ghosts So go ahead take a leap Remember to leave your faith behind Or to distort God’s words To fit your crimes Remember, they are all monsters It’s alright And don’t falter When they ask you “What about the child” He is a monster to be You just made sure to save him From what he would have become The ungrateful did not even thank you For the gift of a bomb Kill them, north and south, Left and right They are murderers You are a hero Who can challenge Your divine right They die because they love death You kill because you love life How can anyone even compare Don’t they see you drop your bombs From the air, with angel wings It is different as you did not stare your victim in the eye Your aim was graceful and blind They are different they cheered the monsters For their horrific crimes Forget the soldiers’ songs and the crowds chants “No ceasefire no ceasefire” So humane, in the face of the barbaric “Free Palestine” Kill them, kill them all, You have a right to be safe Ask your victims as they grasp for air “Why didn’t you leave, condemn, behave” Explain to them that your people are killed Mine only lose their life, on the side of the road, And never come back to pick it up. Kill them, they started it. So ask them once you are done “Why do you hate us, You children of darkness Who can’t stand the sun” Kill them again and again It is your right In the name of “Never again” If they tell you about the laws Tell them That who you are means you can do no wrong And who they are means they can never get it right That you alone here belong And they are an unwelcome sight Kill them, they are monsters Then say you are sorry they had to die That is the difference between you and them You have learned the value of a lie Kill all the monsters one by one Except the one that lies within You are a child of the sun To no one shall you listen Not to their screams, not to their tears, Not to their rights, not to history’s lessons, Not to the world, not to your heart, Not to your daughters, not to your sons, And all over again we shall start One generation after the other Why save them When they can kill each other Kill them, kill them all, You did it so many times before No one will judge you And you firmly believe God is on your side No matter how many times I tell you To you they lied I thought hatred could be destroyed If only we opened our eyes But I can only see despair Do words still matter When faced with such a void Since it’s so unbearable To live together side by side Kill me and go to sleep I am sure you don’t mind Having one more ghost By your bedside.

Ya Allah my heart. Journalist @ahmedhijazee reciting my uncle, Ghazi Al Jamal’s poem to the late Hamza Al Dahdouh… I can’t stop crying.

Call to action for humanity.

Calling all poetry lovers (humans everywhere). Be for humanity. Call for ceasefire. Call for an end to genocide.

I wrote this poem “If I Am Going To Die” on November 9, a few days after Refaat Alareer posted his poem “If I Must Die” and a month before he was murdered. May his soul rest in peace. @itranslate123

🚨 SPOKEN WORD ALERT 🚨 24, a new piece found in my new book, Second Session: Audio Therapy Part II. Available now at Barnes & Noble and my website rdjohnson.org. Order your copy today! #writing #spokenword #poetry

Brian Cox reads If I Must Die, by beloved Palestinian poet, teacher and martyr Refaat Alareer. Refaat was killed on December 7th by an Israeli airstrike. This was the last poem he published.