“Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But, since no one was listening, everything must be said again.” – Andre Gide
Written for dVerse Quadrille #252 – care
Today’s Daily Stoic poem:
The cell door opens, but no light comes through,
just a guard's fist and a dog's snapping jaw.
Thirty-three years of this, though changing too,
the blocks where guards once kept a fragile law.
They took the books, the mirrors, the hotplate,
removed our blankets for a single sheet.
Toothbrushes replaced with ones short and straight,
walking our laps without shoes on our feet.
Still touching hope when the radio plays
Abeer Nehme for three minutes a day.
Then I feel human, despite the malaise,
as Gaza burns a hundred miles away.
They ask,
"Why don't you just die?"
The guards sneer.
I'm still here.
I'm still here.
I'm still here.
Inspired by the titular article by Nasser Abu Srour at Equator magazine about life as a Palestinian inside Israeli prisons.
“I have decided to write because things do not find existence outside the borders of language, not even genocide. I must write about the slaughter in Gaza; about its famished men, women and children; about its drowned sea and about its ability to rise again; about the world’s indifference to what has happened there and what is still happening there; about how the major powers barely even acknowledge this crime. I must write about Palestinian prisoners, because a war is still being waged against them; the Israeli prison authorities have not yet declared a ‘ceasefire’.”
Today’s Daily Stoic poem:
Spoons still clatter each morning,
amongst the rebar and dusted bread.
Idle chatter around the fallen awning,
auntie still insists we make the bed.
But first, we must wash the dishes,
perhaps there will be time to play.
Even knowing worse, unspoken wishes,
it’s another day off school today
No reception from the satellite,
let’s make do with our imagination.
This inception of al fresco light
shall become our new foundation.
Today’s Daily Stoic poem:
Inspired by Colleen’s comment on my old poem ‘Ten To’
Today’s Daily Stoic poem:
A skinny poem, the form inspired by this post by Nilofer Neubert
Today’s Daily Stoic poem:
Let me get you a drink;
that is all I can do.
With a sigh, let us think,
in the dark, with the brew.
It's our game from the start,
in the blood of our night.
Through the mist, from the heart,
in the grave—made it right.
Through the years, on the way,
for a friend, for a bit.
At the end of the day,
on the fence, we should sit.
An anapestic poem written for dVerse – Meet The Bar. Possibly, not quite a ballad…
Today’s Daily Stoic poem:
These I have loved amongst many others.
That green-handled oval hand mirror,
dusty, with paint that would peel and crack.
Held just right, it allowed me to squeeze
those difficult to get pimples on my back.
The old dirty Lino floating under the rugs
collecting snot balls and hair in the corners
Those rugs made a comfort of the floor,
on which I danced like my favourite performers.
The old dirty bed clothes where everyone sat
would become the warmth that each night needed.
The glass in the window, sagging with age,
so often slammed shut and mistreated.
These little nostalgias are a cold comfort,
prickly reminders of all that was
I don’t want to hold on to them anymore.
All these have been my loves.
Written for dVerse Poetics: The Great Lover. I like to reminisce and be nostalgic but it is becoming a reminder of feelings that will not be repeated. While I spend most of my time analysing my own past to understand who I am, I’m also conscious that the little time left to us is being wasted in the process too. This poem could have gone on a lot longer (and maybe one day it will). I think I mentioned this elsewhere, but it brings to mind the Big Black lyric, ‘I know what a liar I am, I should know me by now.’
Today’s Daily Stoic poem:
Another little write inspired by a David Elikwu newsletter about how the left hemisphere of the brain acts as an interpreter for our actions, even after we have carried them out.
Today’s Daily Stoic poem:
Inspired/paraphrased from Chapter 4 (?) of Osho’s Life, Love, Laughter.
Today’s Daily Stoic poem:
Inspired by this write at Maia’s Diaries
Today’s Daily Stoic poem:
1994ever 