An unscheduled Visitor

A. came by . He said : " I am concerned . What is happening to you ? ".
He sat down . Lit his cigarette and inhaled deeply . "Do you realize that your writings, your paintings, your poetry , everything about you has become so depressing." He ranted on ...
"Come on , snap out of it , it is not all bad ...".

Meanwhile , a song was playing on the local radio station :

"There is death around me
I scream , no one hears me...
How can I sing when I have no voice
I want to sing for those who cannot sing
I want to sing for those who
have forgotten how to celebrate...
Who is it that wages war in the name of Man
and declares it in the name of God
when they sold God long ago.
Who has turned this earth to a desolate place
and keeps stabbing it till
the stabs reach the Soul ...
There are wounds ...
and the worst wounds are those of the Soul
I want to sing for the people
who have no one
I want to sing for the children
who were never children
Tell me how to sing when I have no voice..."

The music stopped . I asked : " How do you like your coffee, one or two sugars " ?
I handed him his cup , sat down and listened to the silence separating us .

Comments

Anonymous said…
Have you ever thought about writing a memoir?
Anonymous said…
Have you ever thought about writing a memoir?
Layla Anwar said…
Do you think I need to ?
Anonymous said…
well your writing style is good. combining that with your experiences would make for interesting reading. The only issue (if an issue at all) would be to add humor to it. Its the laughter in the midst of tragedy that keeps hope alive and the spirit together. Otherwise it would be to depressing.
Layla Anwar said…
ok tell you what - let us exchange roles..you come and live in the depressing tragedies and I will be on the outside and find humor in it ..Deal?
Anonymous said…
you are assuming there are no tragedies on this end, that is wrong. furthermore, I was talking about finding humor in life, not tragedy. a sadist I am not.
Layla Anwar said…
I am not sure where "your end " is ...
There maybe individual tragedies , but have you ever experienced or lived through a collective one . Not once , not twice but many a times ?
Anonymous said…
that is precisely my point!

people deal with trajedy at the individual level by the Billions.

you are unique in that your experience is not only at the individual level (personal lose), but also on a larger scale(country) and even a historical level (middle east). You are living/surviving in a historical timecapsule.
Do you realize how small the number of people there are, with your experience and the ability to pen it in a memoir?
Sure, millions are thrust into war but when you break it down and peel away layers, you'll find yourself in a very small group. I don't think you give yourself enough credit.
look at the news organizations that are paying reporters to sit in iraq to get 'front line' news for 6 months; they hide in the green zone, every once in a while they'll go interview someone, then they go back to the west (big deal).

your story is more interesting because of your proximity to the war and the daily routines that have/haven't changed etc.
It is story about god (you wouldn't have made it without this), hope, survival, perseverance and love.

anyway, I'll get off my soap box. I do think your story is unique and inspiring, even if it is sad.

god bless you.
M. Shahin said…
Mashallah, I really loved the poem Layla. There is the story around it, but I really concentrated on the poem.

I love poetry, and I have a collection of poems that I save in a word document, so that I can read whenever I like.

I'll be adding this poem among them. I hope to read more of your poetry in the future.
Layla Anwar said…
M.Shahin - Thank you . This is not my poem..It is a song that has been translated from french into an arabic version. I dont know who the singer is but I can find out for you . As for my poems...I will be publishing some of them soon inshallah.
Layla Anwar said…
Anonymous - Thanks for the encouragement.And Yes I do believe that " God " is great ...
M. Shahin said…
If you ever were able to find out the author of the song, I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks!!!
Layla Anwar said…
I know the French version was sung by
Laam - and was called "je veux chanter". Will get you the Arabic version soon inshAllah.
Anonymous said…
Yes!Yes! I understand you!
I am not Arab but I am human just like you and I feel the same way! I am just sorry I didn't see this site a long time ago.
You are right about so many things..
Anonymous said…
Layla may i be your friend?i was really touched by your words.If you ever need to talk i will be here to listen and support you.
Gabriela (Portugal)

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