I wondered
How embarrassing must it be
To be naked
Outside
Like this tree
She has no shame
Not one bit
And she claims
That she had lived
A thousand and one
Days under the sun
Naked
Happy
And Free
I wondered how great it would be
To be naked like that tree
I confused my soul
With my body
My degree with my intellect
My riches with my clothes
And I let my ego decide
What I was worth
-What are you?
I am a human
-But where were you born?
Here on Earth
As if it was OK to question my humanity
Just because
My color is not dark enough nor light
My color is a puzzling one
Golden like the sun
Mined from a womb of the first civilization on Earth
Sumerian
Between Tigris and the Euphrates
I thirst
I gather myself to reply
To the question of why
I am here
As if they had a better reason to be on this Earth
I am here to survive
To touch more than one life
To tell a story of those before
Of how life continues through the war
I am here because I refused not be
I decided it was my right to be free
I am here because I chose to stay alive
And to show
Those like you
Who never knew
A human with a different color
Or accent
That it is OK to be different
Don’t cry
For the children
Starving
For you are too
Starved
Out of war emerged a Phoenix
Out of boredom of watching T.V.
You learned to look outside
Not knowing who you are
I AM HERE
Cries your ghost
But you change the channel
Then try to find inspiration
At an empty bar
Don’t cry for starving children
Cry for those
Not knowing they are starved
Stranger Paths, The Magic in The Madness Poetry Collection Paper back can now be ordered on Amazon ! I am beyond excited!!!
I designed the cover using Photoshop and a photograph I had taken on a beautiful foggy winter day. Used KDP to self publish and here we are!
This book is 10 years in the making, maybe longer. It is about war, hope, and inspiration. Starting from the Iraq war and my childhood, to moving to America and living life the best I could.
Reviews so far describe it as
“One of a kind”
“Can’t stop reading it”
“Such an interesting story”
To list a few
I am overwhelmed with community support and so grateful to be a part of this world.
A world where an Iraqi woman can have a voice. This is so much bigger than a book being published.
How did you lose your footing
On a dry day
How did you find no other option
And have nothing to say
You are one in MILLIONS
Not meant to give up your right
Here to be inspired
Here to keep up the fight
Don’t lose your footing to a brick
On your path
Chapter 1
The Journey
The ghost floated away from the body, and the soul she decided to go the other way. As their person had his fill of oxygen and experiences on this realm. Ghost wandered seeing this old town a new. “I’ve never seen this mountain or those trees before.” Thought Ghost to himself. Colors were brighter and smells were stronger. Time seemed like an ocean with many rivers attached. Ghost’s person was a child… no a man… no no he was a fetus with a plan. Ghost saw the life he’d been through and many others plain and clear, he thought it was his overactive imagination… could this be a memory of what he’s never dared to dream?
Soul she was not so attached to this realm, actually…she wasn’t attached to any realm. She swept between screen after screen of what life could have been. She was heading upwards with purpose and she was not to be stopped. Soul was so light, much lighter than her other… her what you can call “brother” … what you can call Ghost.
Soul always hated that they were mistaken for each other, her and her “brother”. Their person never knew them fully, sure he stared at the mirror many times, before dates, after long days and sometimes just to appreciate his body. He saw Ghost more than he saw her… and she felt left out most of the time. Although; come night time she journeyed as far as she could without breaking the golden thread. Oh, how she hated that golden thread. The big Voice always reminded her of the golden thread. “200,000 miles left on your thread.” It would say. “You must slow down or you’ll stray.” It reminded Soul.
Soul was respecting the golden thread as much as she could, but today she’s finally free. No more threads holding her back, she flew as fast as she could. Oh, how good it feels to not worry about that golden thread. Even though she was sure of her person’s departure, she hesitates at times while flying. A memory of that thread haunted her head until the Voice says loudly: “You are free, come back to me and tell me all you have learned.”
Ghost was there for the funeral, he was confused of why the adults cried like children. He flinched before going through a wall, then he made a point to go through every wall in the funeral home. He scared a few cats for laughs then he respectfully stood by his person. Ghost wondered who that person is now, now that his sister, soul, is gone. Who is this person laying in that coffin? People came close, too close, thought ghost. They told stories that Ghost remembered fondly. At that moment Ghost insisted on going back to the body but soul had left… no strings attached, he remembered.
Ghost thought, I need to find the Other… our third maybe then I can convince Soul to come back. Ghost thought he needed a tailor with golden threads!
