تميم البرغوثي و"قصيدة القدس"

Abstract

FÁrÙq MawÁsī

In the wake of the study that dealt with Jerusalem in modern Palestinian poetry, lots of debates have arisen regarding the term “Jerusalem Poem”- "qasīdat Al-Quds". Some claimed that this term could include the Palestinian issue, the struggle for Palestine and its various places. Others, however, have been contended to merely use the utterances, “Al-Quds” or “To-Al-Quds” in some of their literary titles and dedications, or talk about some general familiar features of Palestinian towns to demonstrate that the text falls under the category “Jerusalem Poem”.

From the researcher’s viewpoint, however, the term "qasīdat Al-Quds" means an independent poem of place, where Jerusalem, with its various religious, historical, or daily manifestations, is at its center. It is a poem, when read, one may feel the impact, the monuments, atmospheres, places, and times, smell, etc…

Initial forms of the “Jerusalem Poem”, with the above-mentioned specifications, have already manifested themselves in poems written by Amīn ShinnÁr, NizÁr QabbÁnī, and Adīb Rafīq MaÎmÙd, for examples.

In this sense, the" Jerusalem Poem" is a focused entity, or a unified poetic topic within the same framework Tamīm Al BargÙthÐ’s poem “In Jerusalem” is a coherent example of this type of poetry.

The poem is both steady and consistent. It begins moments before the poet steps into the city. He stops by and prays at Al-Aq³Á Mosque, where soldiers mix with tourists who make photos to the seller of radishes. The narrator then feels strong estrangement and alienation. Jerusalem has all those people it does have, yet he himself feels lonely and ostracized. The poet moves around within the space of the Mosque, surveilling the features and manifestations of Allah’s favors in Jerusalem. He then seals his visit with the conviction that Jerusalem is only for the Arabs even if others manage to settle in it at certain times.