Cruising into old age,
reading books
and writing poetry.
~
With one foot in the grave
she sits smiling at me…
my mother
~
هذا المطر
في عتمةِ الليل عاشِقَين
يُقَبِلان بَعضَهُما
~
This rain…
in the dark night two lovers
passionately kissing
~
كقمرٍ في الماء
ترتَجِف
وأنا أُقَبِلُها
We all coexist with the idea that the people we love might disappear at any moment, though this idea, in the every day life, only occupies the fringes of our minds. But when someone you love has cancer, the idea becomes central, and it moves to occupy the entire space. Managing your emotions while going through this is one of the hardest things a human being has to do.
February 2015, my sister, at 27, passed away from cancer. December 2019 my mother was diagnosed with cancer. The haiku below is a memory of mine from my first day of school. I remember crying as my mother left me to the care of the teacher, and I remember looking at her through the window while she left me there and wondering why she left me, and where she is going without me. Fitting for this situation. Only now I’m much lonelier than before. Only now it’s darker and colder around me. The warmth and care of the people I loved most is gone. And so I’m left with…
First day of school…
through the window glass
my mother looking at me
Rooted in Love 