I saw you smile and I gazed
Was there anything that would make a person smile in my wounded city?
Your eyes sparkled with love
Your face beamed
The sound of your hearty laugh
I realized that we are a happy people by nature
No matter how much our oppressor tries to crush us
That we take advantage of the small things life offers us
We play with our children
And build sand castles
We ride the sea waves
And tread the shoreline
To let the water tickle our feet
We nurture the olive trees
Knowing that we are both entrenched into this land
Never to be uprooted