Door On The Road by Mosab Abu Toha

Donation Link: Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign: http://www.ipsc.ie/support/donateIn this episode of Words That Burn, I take a closer look at "Door on the Road," by Palestinian poet Mosab Abu Toha. The poem opens with the aftermath of an explosion in a refugee camp, where a fallen door becomes a grave marker for a young man whose only remaining connection to his past is a worn key — the key to his family’s lost home in Yaffa.As I unpack the powerful imagery in Abu Toha’s work, I explore how everyday objects like doors and keys become symbolic vessels for profound loss, memory, and hope in the context of forced displacement. I also delve into the historical significance of Yaffa, a once-thriving Palestinian city now largely inaccessible to its original inhabitants, and how the city’s erasure is mirrored in the poem’s narrative.Throughout the episode, I draw connections between the poem and Abu Toha’s 2024 poetry collection Forest of Noise, a body of work that documents life in Gaza through stark, evocative imagery and deeply personal narratives. I discuss how the collection uses poetry as a means of bearing witness to everyday atrocities and preserving cultural memory amidst conflict.00:00 The Poem01:14 Introduction to Words That Burn Podcast01:26 Support for Palestine02:52 Mosab Abu Toha: A Witness Poet06:27 Analyzing 'Door on the Road'08:02 The Symbolism of the Door14:02 The Key to Yaffa22:10 The Tragic Reality of Palestinian Life27:11 Final Thoughts and Call to ActionFollow Mosab Abu TohaFollow the Podcast:Read the Script on SubstackFollow the Podcast On InstagramFollow the Podcast on X/TwitterFollow the Podcast on TiktokFollow the podcast on BlueskyThe Music In This Week's Episode:'Echoes' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.