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On today's episode, host Marcela Sulak reads the poetry of Samih al-Qasim. A\xa0Druze resident of the village of Rameh in northern Israel, al-Qasim was best known for his nationalist poetry, in which he passionately defended the rights and identity of Israel's Arab minority. Here is an excerpt from his poem "Regardless":

"We are equal\u2014in bread, roses, love, and sin,
in desiring the wheat stalk that begot a song.
We are equal, the people of my land,
And I love you without election,
without ballot, without adjustment.
I love you by consensus,
without question, without argument."

This is part of a "flock poem" -\xa0a format in which a series of small poems is\xa0written around a theme. Marcela reads\xa0more of al-Qasim's flock poetry, and explains the format in more detail.

Texts:
All Faces But Mine: The Poetry of Samih Al-Qasim. Translated by Abdulwahid Lu\u2019lu\u2019a. Syracuse University Press, 2015.

Music:
Le Trio Joubran\xa0-\xa0L'Obstin\xe9e II;\xa0Maj\xe2z;\xa0Masar