Thousand Year Reunion - A Poem for the People of the Middle East

[Todd Kelsey]

Greetings,

I shared a poem with Josh and he suggested I could post it to the group. It is called 1000 Year Reunion, and is written for the people of the Middle East. Josh mentioned that there are a number of publishers and editors of Middle East-emphasis in the group who might appreciate the spirit of the poem.

I've included a link here to the English and Arabic version, and I've pasted it below (sorry Josh if the comment ends up being too long).

(English, with intro) https://docs.google.com/Doc?docid=dhbxftbn_82mm46cgcz&hl=en
(Arabic) http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dhbxftbn_116g5462bdm

I wrote it last year, at a point when I was volunteering to help One Laptop Per Child and Meedan, and wondering deeply about whether the multilingual and virtual Internet might help to bring the world closer together. I shared it with a girl from Cairo on the airplane one time, and she liked it. Dave Gutelius helped me translate it into Arabic.

I have this dream of reading it someday in Gaza, in Arabic, and seeing if I could get it translated into Farsi, and reading it in Tehran. For some reason I began to weep profusely when I wrote it.

If anyone would have any thoughts someday of a publication in the Middle East I could submit it to, or a conference, or talks, or something -- I would appreciate if you thought of me and dropped me a line. (I'm also interested in finding someone who could translate it well into Farsi.)

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Thousand Year Reunion - A Poem for the People of the Middle East

Dear Reader: The image of ice comes from an event, historic or legend I do not know – Saladin was an Arab who led several responses to the Crusades, and at one point, there was a battle near Jerusalem where the Templars ran out of water, and were defeated, and when their leader was brought to Saladin, Saladin gave him a cup that had ice in it. The poem is on the theme of a reunion between English and Arabic speaking people. It is a poem of love, and I suppose it is addressed to the Middle East, to anyone whose mother tongue is Arabic or Farsi. - Todd Eric Kelsey


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Thousand Year Reunion

The river runs dry
like a desert

cherishing the memory
of water falling into sand
drops from Saladin's ice
and Jesus' side
now deep underground

I love you my brother, my sister
my tears will join that reservoir

I fall asleep, dreaming
in the distance I see a garden
I'm running, rushing towards it
like a waterfall, over the edge
and into your embrace

there's a river in my heart
your children, my children
are swimming, playing in it

it's so nice to see you
I haven't seen your smile
in a thousand years

forgive me
my brother, my sister
I love you so much

my eyes are growing dim now
let me hold your hand
and just look at you
like a flower, flowering

there's an ocean in my heart
your grandchildren, my grandchildren
are sailing, exploring together

[joshua fouts]

Thanks Todd and welcome! This is perfect for this group. We welcome other contributions. I'm enjoying the sunflower club ...