Certainly you were drawing flowers on your papers during your Math class and nodding to your teacher now and again as though you were following her. *** And maybe you had a crush on a boy in the neighborhood and didn't finish your History homework so the girls in the class laughed at your notebook, full of hearts and arrows instead of the reasons behind the French campaign in Egypt I mean: the reasons for wiping out Vietnam, and the necessity of the American century. *** You must have slept once with your hair undone waiting for a cup of milk and a kiss from your mother in the morning dreaming of a boy with blue eyes to replace your white teddy bear. *** Blue and white waves and bubbles two colors beautiful in a flower on a girl's dress, on a bird's wing on your balcony, sky and a cloud in a sketch book, a photo album, not on a flag poking the eyes of a boy with six sharp beaks even if it carried a prophet's name. *** Like every other girl you dreamed of your tomorrow that would never come. In the morning, you would carry your purse and return after an hour from the store with a bag of celery and peas and you would not forget the yellow corn the youngsters loved. *** Pots and spoons and acrobats between the kitchen, the washing machine, and the children's room that must be cleaned before four -your children who will never come- Mother, we went out today to chase frogs and tomorrow we'll cut them with the knife. Don't, my son! Mother, it is the biology class to learn what they hide in their stomachs *** Wake up honey, enough sleep Girls are outside going to the disco But Ma, I was dreaming! How deep your sleep is, Rachel! Get up! But I will not go to the party Where is my blue passport, Ma? I would like to speak with God! *** Like all of us, girl, you loved you talked to the mirror you felt ashamed of a red spot on your dress. Like all of us, you drew Cupid and an arrow with two letters and waited for knight and horse. Just like every dark-skinned girl, you dreamed of high-heel shoes and transparent stockings. Hair ribbons and plaits bored you. And like us -if you had stayed behind- you would have had children and would curse the absurdity of men. Like us, girl, but we did not stop in front of a bulldozer to be crushed to speak with God! We did not stop a cannon that wanted to snatch a child from his laughter! ____________ Cairo - 10 February 2006 * Rachel Corrie is an American girl who traveled to Palestine as a peace activist and stood in front of an Israeli bulldozer to protect a Palestinian house from demolition in Rafah. The bulldozer crushed her! *********** © Translated by Sayed Gouda