Ode to Existence

Battered and broken are the shattered remains of every heart
often to be found in every nook, cranny and corner of the earth;

Fighters of eternity grieve not for wounds of time and place
but in painful hindsight look at the losses and betrayals faced.

Hollow are the known victories of conflict not graced by dignity-
and shallow are the claims for the dead in their dubious morality.

And as in time the mind reels with a vague comprehension
that such are the turns in the fairground of human existence.

As we, pieces of the puzzle fight for the privilege of calm stupefaction;
To let the arrow of life, fly, towards a slow and determined affirmation.

~ J.Bibi

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