Photo by David Sacks
my beautiful city
how one we were
you and i
at night
as i drank your stars
you spoke
not with shame
not with shadow
but with pride
in your house
i slept for days
hiding in your calm
i slept for days
hiding in your calm
closed windows
silent avenues
soldered walls
in your heart
i slept for nights
dying in your strife
open doors
crippled alleys
gaping holes
in your house
i hide
in your heart
i die
in your earth
i sleep forever
waiting
فيانتظار
waiting
for echoes to slice
the night's web of silence
for eyes to conjure
a heartbeat from an infant's call
for you it is already summer
though i have forgotten how to breathe
but not how to dream
and not how to pray
in your house
i hide
in your heart
i die
in your earth
i sleep forever
yearning
فياشتياق
yearning
for a hearkening savior
for an answered prayer
* * * This poem is dedicated to my beautiful Cairo—Al Qahira—The Victorious One, and to every little girl and boy sleeping in her earth... yearning... for answered prayers.
as I drank your stars, you spoke..........speechless, just speechless from the beauty of your words...
ReplyDeleteFrom the depths of your soul, Nevine, these words came inspired from a love which shall never end. Your love for your homeland.
ReplyDelete"Breathes there the man
With soul so dead
who never to himself hath said
This is my own, my native land..."
--Sir Walter Scott
PEACE!
I am breathless from your words, Nevine. I found my stomach clenched and I felt your yearning and that of the children. There were tears in my eyes on the first reading..and now, on my third. xo
ReplyDeleteThis Earth could be such paradise, if only we could always be like children. Peace.
ReplyDeleteA lovely tribute and poignant photo.
ReplyDeleteI also wanted to tell you that I just read your story in NOTES FROM UNDERGROUND. It's very good, a difficult pov to write in, but you did it well. It was gut-wrenchingly impossible to put down. You perfectly captured the unspoken communication between people sitting politely around a living room while seething inside.
I love the way you wrote about the widow as dangerously available and not to be trusted, and her memory of making love was just beautiful. Really fine writing!
Also, I must confess, I've just noticed the writing on the back cover. And instantly recognizable. How could I have missed it?
nice.
ReplyDeleteEgypt must be a proud country to have you as its citizen and daughter.
ReplyDeleteA heartfelt tribute to her from you :)
I don't think I'm this close to my motherland. I wonder why.
Joy always,
Susan
May all your prayers be answered Nevine...
ReplyDeleteAnswered thoroughly and completely...
And may your city rise from these changes and shine and be the city of your dreams, always...
Just beautiful, Nevine.
ReplyDeleteThere is something undeniable, yet not always easy to articulate, about where we are from. This beautiful poem squares that mysterious circle.
ReplyDeleteOh, Nevine! It is so moving and so beautiful!
ReplyDeletec'est un poème très lyrique où on sent tout l'amour que tu portes à cette ville;o)
Moi aussi, j'ai eu une passion très forte pour la petite ville qui m'a vu naître, mais elle a tellement changé que je la reconnais à peine!
Il ne subsiste qu'une grosse nostalgie de ce qui a été et qui n'existe plus que dans mon esprit!
***Gros BISOUS et à tantôt****
So touching words, my dearest!
ReplyDeleteYou express your love for Egypt so beautifully.
May all your prayers be answered.
...in your heart I die..I'm speechless!Really am!
Big hugs!
B xx
Here's the thing. Echoes of your city travel throughout any place that calls itself civilized. She is a birthplace for us all. We all feel her call.
ReplyDeleteincredible.
ReplyDeletedaily athens
David - Thank you. You always leave me with such a warm and fuzzy feeling inside. :-)
ReplyDeleteSteve - What a lovely quote... and so true! I can only imagine that I would be that soulless if I did not feel for my home as I feel. She is my mother... my eternal love. Thank you, Steve. You so get, don't you? ;-)
Glynis - Thank you for sharing your very touching thoughts with me. I am truly moved by your emotion. What else can I say? Thank you. xo
ReplyDeleteAdriana - Oh, if only. At a certain point, we lose our innocence to the demands of life. I remember specific moments where I thought to myself, "I have lost my innocence." And those moments were extremely sad for me. Love and peace, dear Adriana!
Yvonne - You might not believe it, but 2nd person pov is one of my favorite's to experiment with. It really is a bit of a challenge, but I love the atmosphere it creates. Thank you so much for your awesome feedback, and for taking the time to read my story. And yes, the writing on the back... I remember reading "Notes from Underground" and rereading and rereading. I don't think I'll ever stop!
ReplyDeleteGerry - He he he... thanks. :-)
Susan - Oh, my! I am the proud one. And about your not feeling so close to your homeland... I don't think I felt so close to home until I had to leave home. That was the saddest thing I ever had to do in my entire life. To leave and know that you will only return as a visitor... it's breaking. But my love and appreciation for her only blossomed brighter in my heart! It is not that we don't love our homes when we are there, dear Susan. It is just that we don't realize how vibrantly that love shines... until we are no longer there.
ReplyDeleteOwen - What a beautiful and peaceful thought! Thank you so much, Owen. May all of our deepest yearnings and desires for our homelands see their way to the light!
Pauline - Well, thank you! :-)
ReplyDeleteMartin - You know, Martin, you are so absolutely right. Sometimes words truly fail me. And I just allow the feeling to linger in its quiet spot.
Cremilde - You know, ma belle, my Cairo has changed too! And I know what you mean about some things being unrecognizable. It is just that... even when the place changes, the magic of the place just remains... yes, dans l'esprit... just as you said. You know exactly what I mean! :-)
Betty - Thank you so much, my dearest! I so appreciate your lovely words. Big hugs back!
ReplyDeleteJudy - That is such a lovely and embracing statement you've made! And you are so right about it, Judy. Egyptians call Egypt "The Mother of the World," and in many ways, she is. I am happy to know we are not just imagining things when we think that!
Daily Athens - Thank you for stopping in for a visit! And thank you for that lovely, encapsulated thought!
A womb does not always exist prior to birth, perhaps. Sometimes, our true womb comes later.
ReplyDeleteJason - Yes, you're absolutely right. I think the eternal womb... the eternal symbiosis... comes after birth.
ReplyDeleteCoucou Nevine!
ReplyDeleteJe passe juste te souhaiter un belle journée pleine de succès;o)
****/\****
**<****>**
***\/\/***
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Gros BISOUS, ma belle****
Cremilde - Merci, ma belle amie. Tu es gentille... mais non, tu es la gentillesse même! Bisous!!!
ReplyDeleteThat was lovely, thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteJanete - You're very welcome. And welcome to my blog! Thank you for swinging by... for leaving kind words... and for deciding to stay.
ReplyDeleteOutstanding tribute to one's home and her children... your child within still sleeps there and always will, and that's beautiful and vital to keep in one's heart forever.
ReplyDeleteHugs, NEvine
Dulce
You've created such a wonderful homage to your beloved city, Nevine, that I feel proud just reading it, as though we're all a part of it.
ReplyDeleteNevine,
ReplyDeleteIs there anyhting more than love?
Your love for your mother is visceral,
the breath of your breath.
Your bond to Cairo is the gleam in your face, In the glitter of your eyes Nile flows,
When you smile a part of Egypt smiles , and when you cry Her heart saddens,
And vice versa!
A very beautiful tribute!
Your wonderful words have deeply moved me, something of Egypt has always inhabited me, and you're a part of that!
The tenaciously amazing Spirit of the People of Egypt demonstrated how precious freedom is...and what they would do to protect it!
And what the rest of us should never forget!
The torch lit in Egypt has made the heart of Egypt Shine next to the Sun.
And even the blind saw its light!
Once again, You sweep me off my feet with the beauty of who you are!
Take care,
and a lots of love to you!
col.
Dulce - Yes, my child within will always sleep there... and Cairo will always sleep inside me, too. Hugs back, Dulce.
ReplyDeleteRick - What a lovely comment! And we are all part of it, Rick. It's become such a small world, how can we all not be part of everything anymore? Thank you for swinging by.
COL - And you always sweep me off my feet with your lovely, kind, and deeply felt words. I am left speechless... what to say? Does thank you suffice? Let us say that your words are felt deep inside my heart. Thank you for your invaluable friendship, COL. You are a true light in the darkness.
peace, love and security to all nations... so mote it be!
ReplyDeleteLW - Amen, my friend!
ReplyDeleteVery moving Nevine. I hope all ends well there...
ReplyDelete