Almond Trees Of Hope
© Surazeus
2018 04 21
Slouching against the wall by a cracked window,
Zafir watches traffic flow down the streets
that wind through the ancient maze of Aleppo.
"My grandfather, Sayid, tended orchard
of almond trees on the wide river shore
on the fertile farm that our family owned
for hundreds of years, till President Assad
sent jet planes to drop bombs killing our trees.
My heart sinks heavy as stone in my chest,
dragging me down into gloom of despair
since I watched all our trees burn to gray ash."
Lifting the pink shayla scarf to expose
her soft lips, and eyes green as mountain olives,
Sakinah whispers through the window crack.
"Though every tree your great-grandfather planted
was burned by the chaotic fires of war,
you can plant more trees with the almond seeds
that you collected from the dusty ash.
Someday when Al-Assad is overthrown,
and we can live free again from his greed,
you can plant those small seeds in the moist soil
and cultivate new orchard of ripe almonds.
Though all the world is burned by flames of war
yet plants will sprout again from blood-soaked soil."
Opening his hands, smudged with engine oil
from learning in school to be a mechanic,
Zafir caresses the nine almond seeds
he managed to scrape from the dusty ash.
"The sunlight of your words beam in my heart,
bending my consciousness toward your world view.
Your words sprout like trees from my cold stone heart,
weaving wings of hope that inspire my mind
that I may soar again to paradise.
Though I wander lost in labyrinth of fear,
that bombs may blast our bodies into dust,
your words glow bright with glory of Allah,
guiding me to find the garden of love
where we may live together and tend trees."
Pressing her small hand against the cracked glass,
and smiling when he presses his hand back,
Sakinah sings soft melody of hope.
"Though my love leaves for faraway towns,
I feel his spirit with the palm trees sway.
Though my love flies like the owl at midnight,
I feel his love in moonlight on the pond.
We are not doomed like Pyramus and Thisbe
to ever talk through this crack in our window.
Someday we will hold hands and kiss in sunlight."
After gazing at each other with love,
Sakinah slips away into the shadows,
and Zafir hides almond seeds in his pocket
as he hurries through traffic back to school
where he learns to maintain engines of cars.
© Surazeus
2018 04 21
Slouching against the wall by a cracked window,
Zafir watches traffic flow down the streets
that wind through the ancient maze of Aleppo.
"My grandfather, Sayid, tended orchard
of almond trees on the wide river shore
on the fertile farm that our family owned
for hundreds of years, till President Assad
sent jet planes to drop bombs killing our trees.
My heart sinks heavy as stone in my chest,
dragging me down into gloom of despair
since I watched all our trees burn to gray ash."
Lifting the pink shayla scarf to expose
her soft lips, and eyes green as mountain olives,
Sakinah whispers through the window crack.
"Though every tree your great-grandfather planted
was burned by the chaotic fires of war,
you can plant more trees with the almond seeds
that you collected from the dusty ash.
Someday when Al-Assad is overthrown,
and we can live free again from his greed,
you can plant those small seeds in the moist soil
and cultivate new orchard of ripe almonds.
Though all the world is burned by flames of war
yet plants will sprout again from blood-soaked soil."
Opening his hands, smudged with engine oil
from learning in school to be a mechanic,
Zafir caresses the nine almond seeds
he managed to scrape from the dusty ash.
"The sunlight of your words beam in my heart,
bending my consciousness toward your world view.
Your words sprout like trees from my cold stone heart,
weaving wings of hope that inspire my mind
that I may soar again to paradise.
Though I wander lost in labyrinth of fear,
that bombs may blast our bodies into dust,
your words glow bright with glory of Allah,
guiding me to find the garden of love
where we may live together and tend trees."
Pressing her small hand against the cracked glass,
and smiling when he presses his hand back,
Sakinah sings soft melody of hope.
"Though my love leaves for faraway towns,
I feel his spirit with the palm trees sway.
Though my love flies like the owl at midnight,
I feel his love in moonlight on the pond.
We are not doomed like Pyramus and Thisbe
to ever talk through this crack in our window.
Someday we will hold hands and kiss in sunlight."
After gazing at each other with love,
Sakinah slips away into the shadows,
and Zafir hides almond seeds in his pocket
as he hurries through traffic back to school
where he learns to maintain engines of cars.
No comments:
Post a Comment