Standing on the Edge
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
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3 comments
Beautiful poem Khadijah, I do hope you find yourself and your family in peace and safety soon, the whole of creation is sacred, so wherever you find yourself you are still in the heart of creation / god. Love xxx
Khadijah, I think we are always standing on the edge–we just don’t know it. I admire your ability to discern the threshhold, and yet to understand that the whole world is one room: we just move from one part of the space to another.
What a lovely thought, Susan- it is one that is going straight into my journal.