7 June, 2014, Umm al Amad

watching a shepherd tend his flock

It is a pleasure to be here . . .

and were we not here, there would be no grazing

because of these houses.

To keep their land, Palestinian shepherds must graze their sheep close to the settlement.

Otherwise, the land is abandoned and free for the taking.

But the shepherd refuses to move closer.

He has already moved his flock close enough to see the settlement,

far closer than when the Ta’ayush volunteers first came two years ago.

He cannot be persuaded to advance further this week.

All photographs and texts © 2014 Margaret Olin.