Gaza

Hm...Eid was hard.
Tense celebrations-
Personal issues
-political realities
Gaza is heartbreaking
as are all the other conflicts
but no less than those 
dying from hunger everyday.
I'm grateful for my lot..
I can't forget their lot. 
Perhaps that is my excuse
...or my salvation.

J.Bibi

Privilege

Gentle spring breeze,
kiss the crisp sky alight
And crown with warmth
The privilege of a full life.

J.Bibi

Perspective

A year of heartaches.
Of trauma, of revelations
the future looks bright
despite the stormy
clouds that rearrange
Come what may,
In the storms of change-
through steadfast courtesy
the moment was never lost.

J.Bibi

Self

 
The bigger the turmoil-
The more the need to hold on to Self. 
Self helps to steer through the storms
Self helps to see through the dark
Self helps to understand the chaos
Self helps to survive the turmoil of living
Self is a conscious spark of the Universe.

- J.Bibi

Reality

As dreams get choked by the clasp of realities,
The mundane chains and fragile struggles,
Balance out stories where people live in fantasies,
Motivated by many a pattern of beaten troubles
The goals become real and the work easier,
As day by day and through never ending defeats,
The contradictions of reality become clear.

J.Bibi

The Leaf

Once in school, in an art class,
The teacher told us to collect a leaf and then lay it into a tray of paint.
We were then told to pick it up and put it
Paint-side down, onto a plain piece of paper.
The leaf was imprinted onto the paper and the teacher asked,
If we noticed all the little lines that looked
Almost like human blood vessels?
Even though the leaf was dead, it was not dry.
You could not crush it in the palm of your hand
And turn it into ground dust.
That day, I was taught a great lesson.
Even leaves which seem to be dead-
As they are not attached to any plant that sustains them,
Are not actually dead until you can turn them into dust.
It occurred to the child-me then,
That maybe the same is true for humans.
Maybe you can be 'alive'
Even if you're supposed to be 'dead.'

J.Bibi

Aftermath

I'm so afraid
I've lost my way
I can't believe that you've gone away.
I can't find your face-
There is no trace
Of your light.
I said goodbye
But I can't believe
That you would really leave.
It hurts so much-
The pain deafens me-
I can't stand this hurt
The loss of you is unbearable.
These days are so hard,
I sat and watched you disappear,
Night and day I wondered-
How would it be if you went away?
I'm so so afraid
I can't seem to find my way,
I know there is a chance-
To make a difference
But I have to get it out,
This fire that burns
So painfully within,
I must release it-
To start to live again.
Automatically I move
Trying not to jolt the rhythm,
Everything is normal-
Everything is the same
But I'm hurting so much inside,
I just can't take this pain,
I guess now too clearly I know,
My life has forever changed.

J.Bibi

(Written in 1995)