“Wipe out that sadness and weave the Dress of impossible from the tears”.

These words are taken from a poem written by 13-year-old Roaa Al-Masri from Gaza, whose work is included in a collection of verse, written and illustrated by children from Palestine, that will go on display in a unique and poignant exhibition next week.

The show, named Moon Tell Me Truth, will be launched in the Courthouse, Kinvara, next Wednesday, December 18, at 7.30pm. Further poems will also be on display in a Poetry Trail  in Kinvara’s shop windows.

The pieces in this exhibition are being made available to the Kinvara Palestine Solidarity Group by UK Charity, The Hands Up Project.

Established by Nick Bilbrough in 2016, this is a charity trust which has a network of volunteers who connect children around the world with young people in Palestine. Through online interaction, drama and storytelling activities, the organisation allows young people to use creativity and self-expression to promote mutual understanding, personal growth and to help with the development of English language skills.

In 2023 The Hands Up Project ran a poetry competition which resulted in a book Moon Tell Me Truth, featuring paintings and drawings from the Palestinian children, who were aged between aged nine and 15 at the time.

The book presents the the poems and drawings as they were received, and there is a foreword by Professor of Poetry at Oxford Alice Oswald.

Nick Bilbrough of Hands Up will attend next week’s launch at the Courthouse.

“I’m delighted to see the work of these remarkable children reaching wider audiences and am especially pleased to be able to share their poems with the people  of  Kinvara who, I know, have for many years shown  their solidarity with the  people of Palestine,” he says.

In this season of peace and goodwill, the members of the Kinvara Palestine Solidarity Group are inviting people to visit the exhibition, to hear these children and become aware of their resilience and strength, and the beauty of their writing, as shown in the words below from the late Fatema Saida (2014-2023).

Eyes are for looking and seeing sun

Tongues are for greeting and saying fun

Legs are for walking slowing and also run

Hands are for shaking with friends not for

Shooting gun

Moon Tell Me Truth will be open from 11am to 5pm each day until Sunday January 5, 2025 and everyone is welcome.

Pictured: One of the images that will be shown in Kinvara from December 18 to January 5.