Skip to main content

Silence 1

August 2010 - on the roof:

A grass sprouts out from the soil, in a plastic pot. Is it spinach or lettuce? Is it the flowers?
On the roof: A summer night, a crowded city - a cab honks a door slams a fire cracker explodes
Nearby
A wedding in one of the houses a child screams -or is she just playing?

Breathe

On the roof, Tibetan bells ring, and I remember, August 2006 - on the mountain:

"Deafening is the sound of silence, for in it I hear the echo of my own voice. And what does it say but a riddle ...
It takes an emptiness to find the sound of silence. Underneath, the tulips tell stories and the birds explore the sounds they make. With their beaks, they smile to a flower growing, between the wild vine and berry. The plants grow within a day of making way for new leaf.
How sweet it is. The feeling of breathing. Deep into the core, digging between the soil, pulling out old roots and keeping some ... Some plants are impossible to get rid of-in an organic garden. Small hairs seep back, between the unseen and with the worms. They come back, to around the same area, and just develop new ways. Between the roots of other trees-they come out, between the fence. It is falling off. The wire that separates the inside from the outside. Metal rusts and is eaten away by time. It is always there, the duration, the movement of night and day, in rest .... the body simply wants to move-to music. But play it and perhaps I will hear it. I will listen with my every cell and trust that the words will not escape me, as a bird takes me, to another place .... "

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

A letter: Interfaith marriage and crime

Where do I get my inspiration? Different places and times: Sometimes it's from personal experiences and events, sometimes it's from stories I hear or read, with a bit of pepper and salt. Sometimes it comes from nature, dreams, and news reports. Sometimes inspiration just comes, from a place unknown to me. Usually, it's a combination of all those things. Below is a paragraph from my latest performance, "In the Lost and Found", followed by the letter that inspired it. (I apologize for taking so long to publish it Leila .) The letter is set against the reality that in Jordan, as in several Arab countries, a woman cannot transfer her citizenship to her husband (while the man of course can). "They tell me I will lose my inheritance if I marry a non Muslim. He has to convert, otherwise the marriage is false, the kids are bastards, and the wife is an apostate, her "blood is permitted" - with no punishment to the killer. I am obliged to give my husban...

Today's headlines: A rant

I wake up to sound of stupid tunes blasting outside my window. It's not an ice cream van-it's much louder and it comes around more frequently. If you've been to Jordan you know this phenomenon. It's not a riddle, but a pick-up truck selling cylinders filled with gas. I wonder about the driver, listening to the same tune all day. He's probably used to it, but it must be messing up his brain. I get out of bed, cursing. But he's only trying to make a living. The cost of gas keeps rising. I drive into traffic and try to block the honking. I stop to fill up gas After driving off, I realize, "the guy at the pump just ripped me off." I curse again. He's probably underpaid. Last night they said the temperature today will be dropping "expected rain showers, god willing" Today, it's hot, and the plants on the balcony are covered with dust No water in the tank to clean them up I don't know who to curse. I check my email to find forwards a...

Vessels of Light

May we be  Vessels of light Vehicles of peace May we see through the lies we've been fed Since the beginning of his-story Set up against one another The children of Abraham and the 'adoptees' At this point, it makes no difference  Arab - Hebrew Palestinian - Israeli Religious - Secular We are all bait Feeding the Big Fish What Exodus?  We are still enslaved The pharaohs of today transcend nationality and faith United under the flag of common interest and gains They pull the strings of puppet leaders and we do their bidding Brother Sister People of the land People on the land - no matter where you came from People off the land - no matter where you are I am not your enemy You are not mine Embrace your neighbour Fear not Love is the greatest weapon we can carry.