Standing on the Edge

Posted on July 19, 2011

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We are no strangers to turmoil, to change, to the search for something better for our family and our way of life. Since our marriage, we have lived in Wisconsin, Virginia, Maryland, Colorado, New Jersey, and New York state in America, and Sana’a, Ma’bar, Damaaj, and ash-Shihr since coming to Yemen. I have to admit that I had hoped that our move to Yemen was going to be a permanent one, once I adjusted to the idea of moving here at all. My heart embraced it almost at first sight, despite any problems or inadequacies it had. The connection we have forged to the land and its people is strong, based on faith as well as experience.

Now it seems that we are standing at the edge of change once again. The protests, the troubled economy, the uncertain job situation…so many things seem to be telling us that perhaps it is time to consider leaving our new home to return to the old in the next year or so. I find within myself so much conflict and turmoil, perhaps reflecting what’s going on in the outside world…the longing for home becomes confusing when your heart is split between two places, so different, on opposite sides of the world.

So I put my trust in Allaah, willing to be patient, to watch, to wait, to continue experiencing life to its fullest, knowing, always, in the back of my mind and in the core of my heart, that we are always, everywhere, standing on an edge.

We stand on the edge

that slippery, uncertain sand

shifting

toes dug in

wind-driven waves advance

swirl twist themselves

around our ankles

a giant green-eyed cat

a last sniff

tickle of whiskers

they recede

lay in wait

knowing time

is on their side

the sun

the moon

force of nature

pulls us from

our new land

nine years home

ancient earth

dry air

shy smile of a woman

in black

waves of longing

waves of memory

waves of home

we only await the time

to dive in