The Office Calendar!

I was afraid all day today!
All through the morning coffee, the lectures, the lengthy office hours, and the afternoon tea, I was worried for an unknown-forgotten-something; worried that I am missing something!

The office calendar, sat on the desk with an air of confidence that robbed me of mine! I sat there as if all day, yet not!

I miss the scent of tuberose that filled our home every March 8th. I miss the scent of that one tuberose, that one Gool-e Maryam, the one dad brought home, every year on March 8th. I miss being home on March 8th!

The office calendar with an air of confidence reminded me of home!


* Happy International Women's Day! Happy March 8th!

Your Print!

You left your print in me,
An image of you that has permanently marked my retina,
An image that warms me, shines through me, and dances with me.

The warmth of the sun in a winter day,
The shine of the moon in a dark night,
The dance of the Chergui wind on the feathers of a seagull,

You left your print in me, warmer than the sun, shinier than the moon, a better dancer than the Chergui wind!


*For Brian,

What We Are...

"It is certain that we cannot overcome anguish, for we are anguish."

(Jean-Paul Sartre, Being and nothingness: an essay in phenomenological ontology)

The Quiet Space!

The skin of my hands are pink, pulsing and in pain. There is not much to say. The bleach odor has occupied the quiet space, screaming sharply. Zeitoon and I are huddled together, perhaps in an attempt to escape this frightful image of loneliness. The house is clean. My hands are empty. There is not much to say!

The Mysterious Logic of Shadows!

The mysterious logic of shadows has taken over the light,
the light that danced over your eyes,
the eyes that took me in as if I belong,
the belonging that was delicate to my being,
the being that is lost in the search of the mystery; the mysterious logic of the shadows!