If I forget thee, O Tantura, let my right eye wither, For having witnessed the beauty of your beaches, But not the village that once stood by the sea Among pottery shards and murex shells And white lilies and sea-lavender and crimson kalaniot And little round stones sitting atop big flat stones, That my people…

The Kalaniot (poppy anemone) is a potent symbol for both Israelis and Palestinians: its red, white, and black petals and green stem match the colors of the Palestinian flag, while in the winter it famously blankets the Otef Azah region of Israel, precisely where the October 7 massacres occurred. Both peoples have since used this…