From “On This Earth”
“We have on this earth what makes life worth living: April’s hesitation, the
aroma of bread
at dawn, a woman’s point of view about men, the works of Aeschelus, the
beginning
of love, grass on a stone, mothers living on a flute’s sigh, and the invaders’ fear of memories.
We have on this earth what makes life worth living: the final days of
September, a woman
keeping her apricots ripe after forty, the hour of sunlight in prison, a cloud
reflecting a swarm
of creatures, the people’s applause for those who face death with a smile,
a tyrant’s fear of songs…”
—Mahmoud Darwish
The wafting scent of flowering Jasmine blends with puffs of cigarette smoke, and lingers in the air like the anticipation of a kiss. All winter, Sunlight has unfurled her fingers like a hesitant lover, and has now succumbed to earthy warmth. Shy glances are exchanged and reciprocated with shyer smiles.
Spring has sprung.
