Morning Song

Inspired by Janna Jihad Ayyad’s activism, Nye composed a poem that pays tribute to Ayyad’s work, acknowledging the sacrifices and challenges she, along with all Palestinians, face in taking risks for a more peaceful existence.

Until the final line, every stanza is a couplet: two-lined stanzas. Nye uses an objective first-person plural speaker throughout most of the poem, sans the italicized lines which indicate the thoughts of the “tiny journalist” (Line 1).

The first stanza describes who the journalist (Ayyad) is and what she does, referring back to the title of the poetry collection: “tiny journalist” (Line 1). The second stanza details specifically what the tiny journalist sees: “documents the moves, the dust” (Line 3). The third stanza mentions how she does her work: “She knows how to take a picture / with her phone” (Lines 5-6), referencing Ayyad’s use of her mother’s iPhone. The fourth stanza contains a simile, evoking the image of a balloon floating in the air to portray how high the journalist holds her phone to get the most comprehensive photos of her surroundings. This stanza abruptly switches tone when suggesting that this work is not her first choice: “[S]he would / prefer to dance and play” (Lines 7-8).

In the fifth stanza, the speaker says that the journalist “would prefer the world / to be pink” (Lines 9-10). Here, pink likely represents a typical young girl’s life: She would rather be immersed in typical young girl activities than living the life she does. In the sixth stanza, it becomes clear there is a weight upon the journalist’s shoulders, as she is tasked with seeing and reporting “everything” (Line 12) around her. This everything feels “huge” (Line 13) in her young perspective. Yet, the speaker cautions her readers—who are seemingly the “enemies” being photographed—that even though she’s young, “she’s bigger than you are” (Line 14).

The seventh stanza, again with a warning, evokes visual imagery suggesting the tiny journalist’s growing prowess in the face of despair: “If you stomp her garden / each leaf expands its view” (Lines 15-16). The eighth stanza expresses yet another warning to those Ayyad observes: “Don’t hide what you do” (Line 17). At all hours of the day, she is watching everyone. In the ninth stanza, the speaker mentions an “impenetrable vest” (Line 19), reminiscent of a bullet-proof vest an officer of the law would wear but also one that a fearless journalist would figuratively wear.

The ninth and tenth stanzas introduce a question that seems directed at the Israeli soldiers: “What could she have / that you want? (Lines 20-21). The speaker answers their own question: “shiny buttons her grandmother loved” (Line 22), describing heirlooms of sentimental value. In the eleventh stanza, the speaker continues to address the question and ups the ante of value with “her cousin, her uncle” (Line 23)—the two people in Ayyad’s family murdered because of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Then, the speaker mentions in italics a less serious answer, which gives off a darkly comedic vibe: “There might have been a shirt…” (Line 24). This stanza begins the italicized lines found in other stanzas throughout the rest of the poem. These italicized lines read like inner thoughts that Nye channels as she embodies the voice and viewpoint of Ayyad.

The twelfth stanza shows the geographical extent of Ayyad’s work as she travels to other cities to take photos and “notices / action on far away roads” (Lines 25-26). The thirteenth stanza demonstrates the tiny journalist’s unique methods: “She takes counsel from bugs” (Line 28); this is perhaps another reminder to the reader how young the journalist actually is. In the fourteenth stanza, the speaker personifies “puffs of dust” (Line 29) by questioning in italics right after this phrase whether the dust could become a friend. This stanza suggests the loneliness that can come from the journalist’s work and her desire to be like a “normal” kid.

Stanzas fifteen and sixteen consist only of italicized lines, revealing the fear with which Ayyad and Palestinians live and questioning the reasons for the brutality: “They came at night with weapons” (Line 32) and “What was our crime?”  (Line 33) In stanza seventeen, the speaker sees the journalist looking “through a hole in the fence” (Line 35), suggesting that the evidence of death and destruction is all around her. Next, the journalist is able to sense what is about to happen “before anyone strikes a match” (Line 38), implying that with her exceptional skills, she is the proper person to represent her community. In the final, nineteenth stanza of only one line, the speaker places all her hope in the journalist, perhaps also in the younger generation as a whole: “She has a better idea” (Line 39).