Bitter is this dawn that no longer comes
With the prayer of doves on rooftops
And your face

This treacherous sky above your head
The colour of lead and flame
These forests of stars smothered
In the blinding smoke

These banners ripping the air around you
Woven of cries
These fields of ruins and debris
Where you stand shivering
In the nudity of daylight

You, a lonely prophet in this besieged space
Who listens to the laments of stones
And writes his testament
With tears and blood

You, who lights candles
For the passing caravans of martyrs
And falls asleep with the night

Salam to you

. . . this poem . . . in my mind i wrote it for a friend in Gaza . . . i haven’t heard from him in weeks now . . .

– Imen Benyoub
© 2014, poem, All rights reserved; photograph courtesy of morgueFile

IMEN BENYOUB ~ is a multilingual, multi-talented writer, poet, and artist from Guelma, Algeria. Imen currently lives in East Jerusalem. She is a frequent guest here on The Bardo Group blog and with On the Plum Tree and Plum Tree Books Facebook page as well.

~

ALICE WALKER (b. 1944), American activist and Pulitzer Prize winning author:

Not with a bang … but with a whimper.

Peace: It’s a decision.

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible. His Holiness, the 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet

THE KEEP SMILING BAG

Jamie Dedes

A lifetime ago I had a job in social work where I was privileged to work with folks who were everyday heroes in desperate circumstances. There were many things we could do to help our clients. Sometimes, though, I found that what people felt was most bracing and cherishable were small, personal, keepsake kinds of things: like THE KEEP SMILING BAG. A Buddhist might call it a Metta Bag, a Catholic, a Caritas Bag, a Jew, a Chesid Bag. A Native American might consider it a Medicine Bag. Since I learn from all and affiliate with none, I just call it THE KEEP SMILING BAG. It’s full of little reminders of how one might help oneself in difficult circumstances. These are certainly trying times. You may have a few people in your life who could use a KEEP SMILING BAG. You might even prepare one for you. If you do this, do it with intension.

Here are the supplies you’ll need to gather:

Small, cheerful gift bags
Little decorative erasers
Glass marbles
Colored rubber bands
Assorted colored crayons
Birthday candles
Hershey’s Chocolate Hugs and Kisses
Silk ribbon

Collect the goodies in a bag and prepare an instruction card to go with it:

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

KEEP SMILING BAG

Here are a few things to get you through the day:

Eraser – to help make the heartache disappear
Marbles – for when you think you’ve lost yours
Rubber band – you can stretch yourself beyond previously known limits
Crayons – events may color your life, but you choose the colors
Silk ribbon – to tie everything together when it seems it’s all falling apart
Stars – dream, expand your awareness of the possibilities
Candle – your inner light that is the true you, bigger than the circumstances of your life
Hugs & Kisses – Someone cares. Me! 🙂

Photo credits ~ Bag, Ann Cervova, Public Domain Pictures.net. Hershey’s Kisses ~ courtesy of IvoShandor under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported via Wikipedia. Flowers ~ Jamie Dedes.

Tag: concern

You who lights candles . . . Salam to you . . .

Bitter is this dawn that no longer comes
With the prayer of doves on rooftops
And your face

This treacherous sky above your head
The colour of lead and flame
These forests of stars smothered
In the blinding smoke

These banners ripping the air around you
Woven of cries
These fields of ruins and debris
Where you stand shivering
In the nudity of daylight

You, a lonely prophet in this besieged space
Who listens to the laments of stones
And writes his testament
With tears and blood

You, who lights candles
For the passing caravans of martyrs
And falls asleep with the night

Salam to you

. . . this poem . . . in my mind i wrote it for a friend in Gaza . . . i haven’t heard from him in weeks now . . .

~

ALICE WALKER (b. 1944), American activist and Pulitzer Prize winning author:

Not with a bang … but with a whimper.

Peace: It’s a decision.

THE KEEP SMILING BAG

Bitter is this dawn that no longer comes With the prayer of doves on rooftops And your face

This treacherous sky above your head The colour of lead and flame These forests of stars smothered In the blinding smoke

These banners ripping the air around you Woven of cries These fields of ruins and debris Where you stand shivering In the nudity of daylight

You, a lonely prophet in this besieged space Who listens to the laments of stones And writes his testament With tears and blood

You, who lights candles For the passing caravans of martyrs And falls asleep with the night

Salam to you

. . . this poem . . . in my mind i wrote it for a friend in Gaza . . . i haven’t heard from him in weeks now . . .

~

ALICE WALKER (b. 1944), American activist and Pulitzer Prize winning author:

Not with a bang … but with a whimper.

Peace: It’s a decision.

Thank you for sharing the beauty and inspiration:

Thank you for sharing the beauty and inspiration:

Bitter is this dawn that no longer comes
With the prayer of doves on rooftops
And your face

This treacherous sky above your head
The colour of lead and flame
These forests of stars smothered
In the blinding smoke

These banners ripping the air around you
Woven of cries
These fields of ruins and debris
Where you stand shivering
In the nudity of daylight

You, a lonely prophet in this besieged space
Who listens to the laments of stones
And writes his testament
With tears and blood

You, who lights candles
For the passing caravans of martyrs
And falls asleep with the night