Numb

Written by: Naila Baqer Copyright © 2006

I must be numb

To this pain I feel

I must remember to breathe.

 

Come hold me my son

With cheeks so round

And your eight years of wisdom.

 

Place your head

Across my chest

Listen to the whispers of my heart.

 

Honour the oath

Both of you have made

In secret, in me.

 

To be gentle with me

As I have promised

To nurture you.

16^th Dec.’06

Tumultuous Lullaby

Forwarded by: Kristalle
Written by: Naila Baqer (A book of poems and reflections from a Kuwaiti poetess)

ARABS

Precious years of our lives are passing
And we sit and watch without participating.
We feel happiness slip through our fingers
And we sit with a grin on our lips.

We tell others
That we are satisfied with the life we lead;
That
We Arabs want nothing more from life
Than
To keep swirling inside a safe vacuum,
Not experiencing anything except Imperial Silence
Glorified Emptiness
Worshipped Nothingness

HUMANS / ARABS

We wear ravishingly resplendent masks of Religion,
We wrap ourselves with velvet cloaks of Serenity
And
our men dress only in White when the Sun is ablazing.
Yet
When Night descends and frightens the Sun away
and people prepare to go to bed,
Off comes their masks
and hideous Hypocrisy appears;
Off comes their velvet cloaks
and the shabby skeleton of Chaos seen.
Such mutilated, soulless creatures are members of our society.
And
we continue to roam aimlessly
like bedouins in an arid land
convincing ourselves that the mirage is real and
the barren desert is a lush scentful garden.
But
this ostentation cannot be stopped,
the Cycle cannot be disturbed.
And for those who stand in Her way,
for those who are aware and know,
Those she will crush; she is merciless.
Thus
we continue going in circles,
absent minded,
being guided,
as in a ‘zaar’.

1997

© COPYRIGHT “TUMULTUOUS LULLABY” BY NAILA BAQER (1ST EDITION 2004)