My name is Mosab Abu Toha, and I’m a bilingual Palestinian poet from Gaza. Maybe unlike other parts in the world, Gaza has been in lockdown for many years. As a result, only a very small number of people could get the vaccine shots which were allowed to enter Gaza. I haven’t yet received mine. Here is my poem:
Dear vaccine,
do you see us?
We know we are insignificant
in this universe,
but we want to walk on the streets,
unafraid to show our smiles to others passing by.
We promise we will be kind
to nature, to our fellow trees and seas,
to the sand and rocks,
to the ants sleeping near our books.
Do you not wish to watch us sing to our kids
on swings?
Do you not know how much the parks miss
the dogs as they run after a ball? How much fun
they would have jumping in a mall?
Dear vaccine, when you enter our bodies,
you will enjoy our lives
because we will be
better humans.