Not this time...
"I came to think of Beirut as a huge abyss, the darkest corner of human behavior, an urban jungle where not even the law of the jungle applied. Experiencing such an abyss not only left scars but also new muscles. Life can no longer deal you many surprises or shocks after you’ve lived in Beirut. The experience leaves you wearing an emotional bullet-proof vest" (Friedman T.)
Our beloved city still wears the scars...
reminding us of what we did
not so long ago..
The traces of our brutality
Are everywhere we go
And the hidden bullet holes
Found a way to be exposed
Again
As the shear layer of deceit
unraveled
A land based on turmoil
And hearts that boil
With hidden resentment
A word will release
Years, but decades of non belonging
A post card image of lies
A voice of hope muffled with guns
A revolving fate
Of a nation
A revolting artist
Washed down
Reduced to a song
With a new beat
A generation with no voice
Drained of the necessary impatience
with the unchanging situation
Far from making a change
even when given a choice
Drugged men and trophy women
An oasis of fast loves
Fast trends and fast causes
Serving in disbelief
The highest bidder
Unholy alliances
Changing faster
Than the eyes can believe
A forgotten land
But did we forget?
Did we have the time to heal?
Do you not still look behind your back?
Do you not still hear the deafening sounds?
Do you not still shed tears?
Did you ever find a home?
Do you not still bear scars?
If not
Look around
She does…
7 comments:
I do.
My scars are part of hers, and I still carry them.
and I still ache.
I will never forget, or even fake.
And I'll be back...!
Beirut was often called the "Paris of the Middle East" - just a pinch more lovable despite the lack of an Eiffel tower.
Wished I could have lived and travelled during those days - before the bullet holes (that are minor) and the crumpling of buildings that once were major.
ok, crumbling ... -:)
“How can I write about Beirut? How can I collect it into one volume: the years of pain; of watching a world collapse while trying to stave off that collapse; the layers of memories and hopes, of tragedy and even sometimes comedy, of violence and kindness, of courage and fear?
Above all, how can I express my strange love for this mutilated city?
how to explain, both to myself and to others, the lingering magic of the place that has kept me and so many others clinging to its wreckage, refusing to let go, refusing to abandon it?”
Jean Said Makdisi, from Beirut Fragments
mar and hashem i'll be back too, very soon :)
zee, switzerland of the middle east and you'd be happy to know that it's again perfectly safe and perfectly beautiful to visit
_z thank you for this selection
marvelous, love! reminded me of Quabbani's 'wa ahdaynaki makana el wardati sikeena!! na3tarifu el ann..'
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