An Offering...
I am not in the habit of sharing my poetry on this blog.
Somehow in my mind Arab Woman Blues, the mother blog is dedicated only for Iraq, and poetry is a personal matter, a private realm where analysis fails to capture Truth. Poetry, a garden, where one can stroll and occasionally play, and sometimes a secluded room where one can cry...
But habits can be broken, and exceptions to the rule are allowed. This is not Moses Tablet with its Ten Commandments. This is my place, my little home, which I have kept freely open for you.
So today I have decided something "revolutionary", I am posting my poem here and on my two other blogs.
When I do something as "revolutionary" as this, it is usually because I have a message. Same applies when I advertise my posts, I only do so when I have a punctual message to send to the world.
And am hoping through this humble poem, of possibly no "literary value" (that should shut up critics) my message will come across.
I have several peoples in mind to whom I shall dedicate this to - namely - Iraq, Syria and Palestine. Of course it is not limited to these three alone, it is an offering from my depths to whoever is struggling in a cell, in a well...
I pray that it will bring a message of Fortitude, Hope and Faith.
Down There with You....2012
I asked Him
where were you when...
It was dark and damp
down there
alone
in total obscurity
a black veil covering
my sight, separating me, us...
No Light
no human touch
no compassionate
voice
you ask of me mercy
you leave me down there
in the abyss
of foreign hands
of sticks, stones
of fire surging from dragons mouths
lacerating my body
my soul
No Light
just a cell
with my back
against a cold indifferent wall
I reach out
another cold hard wall
my breath constricted
unable to inhale, exhale
fear, the stone in my stomach
my only food
my only nourishment
day and night
day became night
and night became day
falling into a long night
the Layl of my being.
I said to you
fine take me
You wanted surrender
and I did
the animal
beaten into submission
tamed into silence
the silence of a slow death
For I died
a thousand times,
occasionally
tears, reminded me of
of water
of out there
of
rivers, where people sit by their banks
laughing, hugging
sea shores where cool breeze
caresses the hair
streams that
bare feet playfully tease
rain, when it hits my window
snow and icebergs
where my tears froze in waiting
Water
water of baths that purify
water that quenches
on hot summer days
the water of life
flowing in my tear...
Stuck, a prisoner
in a dry dark well
an abandoned Joseph
an outcast
the scorn and envy of others
dumped in a well
out of sight
days, months, years passed
and you left me there
in an infinite moment
praying for rain
eating earth
mud
worms
swallowing
stones
snakes
and bitter, caustic venom
in a place
with no life
and no death
I cried out
then
as I cried out
today
So where were You when...
I waited
defiant, challenging minutes
seconds
challenging the silence
of an Eternity
I waited just like I waited
in that cell
in that well
where dreams were forbidden
where wounds sang soothing lullabies
rocking me
in sleepless nights
I repeated the question
demanding, requesting, a reply
So where were You when...
as if this is was your last chance to prove
as if this was our final goodbye
before we part ways
before I turn my back
before I walk out...
So where were You
then
when...
" Down there with you "
you gently said.
The Layl of my Being - May 2012.
Somehow in my mind Arab Woman Blues, the mother blog is dedicated only for Iraq, and poetry is a personal matter, a private realm where analysis fails to capture Truth. Poetry, a garden, where one can stroll and occasionally play, and sometimes a secluded room where one can cry...
But habits can be broken, and exceptions to the rule are allowed. This is not Moses Tablet with its Ten Commandments. This is my place, my little home, which I have kept freely open for you.
So today I have decided something "revolutionary", I am posting my poem here and on my two other blogs.
When I do something as "revolutionary" as this, it is usually because I have a message. Same applies when I advertise my posts, I only do so when I have a punctual message to send to the world.
And am hoping through this humble poem, of possibly no "literary value" (that should shut up critics) my message will come across.
I have several peoples in mind to whom I shall dedicate this to - namely - Iraq, Syria and Palestine. Of course it is not limited to these three alone, it is an offering from my depths to whoever is struggling in a cell, in a well...
I pray that it will bring a message of Fortitude, Hope and Faith.
Down There with You....2012
I asked Him
where were you when...
It was dark and damp
down there
alone
in total obscurity
a black veil covering
my sight, separating me, us...
No Light
no human touch
no compassionate
voice
you ask of me mercy
you leave me down there
in the abyss
of foreign hands
of sticks, stones
of fire surging from dragons mouths
lacerating my body
my soul
No Light
just a cell
with my back
against a cold indifferent wall
I reach out
another cold hard wall
my breath constricted
unable to inhale, exhale
fear, the stone in my stomach
my only food
my only nourishment
day and night
day became night
and night became day
falling into a long night
the Layl of my being.
I said to you
fine take me
You wanted surrender
and I did
the animal
beaten into submission
tamed into silence
the silence of a slow death
For I died
a thousand times,
occasionally
tears, reminded me of
of water
of out there
of
rivers, where people sit by their banks
laughing, hugging
sea shores where cool breeze
caresses the hair
streams that
bare feet playfully tease
rain, when it hits my window
snow and icebergs
where my tears froze in waiting
Water
water of baths that purify
water that quenches
on hot summer days
the water of life
flowing in my tear...
Stuck, a prisoner
in a dry dark well
an abandoned Joseph
an outcast
the scorn and envy of others
dumped in a well
out of sight
days, months, years passed
and you left me there
in an infinite moment
praying for rain
eating earth
mud
worms
swallowing
stones
snakes
and bitter, caustic venom
in a place
with no life
and no death
I cried out
then
as I cried out
today
So where were You when...
I waited
defiant, challenging minutes
seconds
challenging the silence
of an Eternity
I waited just like I waited
in that cell
in that well
where dreams were forbidden
where wounds sang soothing lullabies
rocking me
in sleepless nights
I repeated the question
demanding, requesting, a reply
So where were You when...
as if this is was your last chance to prove
as if this was our final goodbye
before we part ways
before I turn my back
before I walk out...
So where were You
then
when...
" Down there with you "
you gently said.
The Layl of my Being - May 2012.
