Read part 1 here
Read part 2 here
PART 3: Mariam and Tawona on the Poetry Workshop
It’s a Gathering of Hearts
As I sit and think
plan and prepare
As I hope and wish
wonder and imagine
I try
I try hard not to forget
what’s in front of me
Real people,
lives, experiences and beyond
If the ship sinks we all drown
This, is a gathering of hearts
I try
I try hard not to forget
I am one bead of this bracelet
Though we begin from a strange exterior
In the end we all share the same interior
It’s a celebration of diversity
A mum, a baby, a graduate of a university
Many nationalities: Iraqi, Syrian
Turkish, Libyan
but mostly Romanian
A resident, a refugee, a visitor
In life, everyone is a traveller
This, is a gathering of hearts
I try
I try hard not to forget
These are days of war
somewhere inside this broken body
is a soul
somewhere inside this tangled mass
is a life
Somewhere inside this lonely heap
is a poet
Writing about oneself is to some exciting
To others unsettling
This, is a gathering of hearts
Take my hand, if you may
It’s dark where we go
Take my hand, if you will
It’s hard what we do
Lend your trusted tongue to my wavering words
Lend your astute eye to my wavering ways
It’s done together,
Better together
Here we get in touch with ourselves
Here we try to CONECT
Even if we don’t achieve
at least we relate
This, is a gathering of hearts
In my nhorwa I bring tasaamuh
and my strangeness
I hope our strangeness makes a fine mess,
a fine mesh of memories and stories
Metaphors of rivers, trees, birds, and pebbles
A way of making sense of our puzzles
I try
I try hard not to forget
Our precious shared humanity
In the words of one of ours:
“Every person is a richness
of depth and beauty
If you just take the time
to listen to them
with your whole being
you will be impressed
by the mysterious light
you will find”
Writing is mostly done in English
In Arabic comes a line by Darwish
“Upon this land there is that which deserves life”
Words of hope for Palestinians
And now also for Syrians
In a different language it is sent
But everyone knows what is meant
What it means
To lose a home
To cling to hope
This, is a gathering of hearts
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