After reading this poem, which was published as a guest post in Letters from Gaza, an ELT Professionals for Palestine‘s e-newsletter, I was inspired to create two versions of a song using my go-to AI music program with customized prompts. (See the embedded links below for both versions.) Also, below are the poem and information about the author, whose first name, Shams, means “sun” in English. This is her first poem.

Verse 1 My name is Sun, I rise each day, Though Gaza’s skies are choked with gray. I hear the cries of children lost, Their laughter silenced by the cost. But still I shine, I find a way.

Verse 2 Walls collapse and homes erased, So many dreams have been displaced. The streets know blood, the nights know fear, Yet voices whisper, “Hope is near.” I burn through sorrow’s heavy haze.

Verse 3 They took the light from children’s eyes, Made tiny hearts old, heavy, wise. But I remain the morning’s thread, For every orphan, tear, and dead. I am the Sun, and I will rise.

© 2025 Shams Mazen Rajab

Version #1

Version #2

About the author and the poem

Shams (@shams.m.rajab on Instagram) is a translator, writer, and English teacher, and also teaches the Arabic language to non-native speakers. Since the best teachers never stop learning, she is also a student in our (ELT Professionals for Palestine) English tutoring project. She says about this poem:

The idea for this poem came to me after I attended a haiku lesson with Mr. Isaak. Even though I didn’t write a traditional haiku, the lecture made me think deeply about expressing strong emotions in simple, powerful words. That’s what inspired me to write this free-verse poem.

I structured it in three stanzas, each with five lines. I didn’t follow a rhyme scheme, but I focused on rhythm and emotional flow. I used symbolism, like the sun, which is also my name “Shams”, to represent hope, light, and resilience.

The poem talks about the pain we live through in Gaza, loss, destruction, and children becoming orphans. But I also wanted to leave a message of hope. Even when everything is dark, there’s still a light inside us that refuses to fade.

I wrote it to express what so many of us feel here. It’s not just a poem; it’s a reflection of what I carry in my heart every day.

Here’s the Arabic version of Sun of Hope that Shams shared with me.

Shams has also written for we are not numbers – emerging writers from Palestine tell their stories and advocate for their human rights.

FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN FOR SHAMS & HER FAMILY

Family facing starvation in Gaza: Child starvation. Home completely destroyed. Medical emergencies without any access to treatment. This is the reality of life for the family you see in these photos. My name is Isaak McLean, and I am a volunteer English teacher to Palestinians in Gaza. One of my students and her family are fighting for their lives, and they need our help. The eldest sister of the Rajab family, Shams, you can see pictured in front of her home blown to pieces. Three of her siblings are also pictured, who have shared half a piece of bread for the last 2 days due to the psychotic price of flour as a result of the current “aid” system. When they try to purchase fish, they are shot at. This family needs your help. My fellow Australians and anyone who may be able to help, please donate what you can and help save this family in need.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/family-facing-starvation-in-gaza

This GoFundMe campaign was launched by Isaak McLean, an English teacher in Australia who has been teaching Shams online.

MAA: Please contact Shams if you want to learn Arabic or need a translator. Her WhatsApp number is in the graphic below.

Finally, here’s a note from ELT Professionals for Palestine that I’m happy to share with my readers and whoever else reads this post.

To join our tutoring programme, sign up here.

We are mainly looking for experienced teachers, but we do have a new conversation project that you may be able to participate in without teaching experience.