Sunday 24 June 2012

Childhood Friends


Trembling,  my hands over my heart
Walking towards them, thinking:
All those years, they haven't changed a bit!

Do you remember me?
I whispered

I used to play here
long time ago

Do you remember the girl who used to arrive to school at dawn
while people still asleep

Yes it's me
The girl who tiptoed her way in
not to disturb the melody of birds singing their morning prayer


The girl who used to tell you stories
about her lucent wings which could only open
when no one is looking


The girl who used to dream of her home in heaven
its rainbow staircase and windows of stars
her bed of roses
blanket of jasmine and pillow of clouds



The girl who used to tell you stories
about her doll who could read and write
but who could only talk
 at the stillness of the night

The girl with a wooden horse
 who could only fly
when children lay in bed and close their eyes

The girl who adored her doll's family
who lived far away but could only visit
when boys and girls cross the line into dreamland


Do you remember me?
I used to play here
long time ago
Heart pounding, I whispered

Blushing, they turned their heads, looked at me- 

Faces beaming, they nodded

 and smiled


Poppies in my grandmother's olive grove, on my way to school, Bayt Iksa, Palestine, April 2012


No comments: