TATA

I have to tell you a story That re-ignited my faith in art I may be using my tongue for this But it is coming straight from the heart I've been trying to write in arabic But truth be told I do struggle with it So I turned to the person I know speaks it best My tata Who first taught me how to articulate I told her my idea And what I would like to say But I encouraged her to express it in her own way To be honest I didn't know if she'd be interested I just knew her words would cut deep But when she called me an hour later I was shocked beyond belief My homeland even if I am far from it It is in my heart and mind And when I returned to it It felt as if I had just left She proceeded to say in excitement Do you like it? I paused I haven't told you that since last September Tata's smile has been truly hard to remember Her sorrow is so deep it's clouded her sight And turned her days into sleepless nights But hearing her joy for the first time Was like witnessing your very first sunrise Although she was reading her lines with pride All I could hear was the passion she couldn't hide inside I loved it tata She told me this was the first time she gave writing a try Never knowing she had a talented poetic side Did a bunch of letters really bring her back to life? She then texted me at 6am the very next day I asked her why she was up so early She told me she woke up at 5am with a lot to say And spent her night thinking of our first poetry I strolled through the mountains and cafes Breathing in the healing air I realized the difference between my exile And what I found in my homeland I can't describe to you how that felt I tried to type them out in words myself But I can describe to you a smile I've never had before Though my lips stayed still My heart felt like it could soar If I needed motivation this was my cue Art had healed my tata and it healed me too And inspired this prose I just wrote for you Where are you from? You mean birth? Heritage? Or where I currently live? Because frankly I have more than one answer to give I am from the desert And the mountains I am from a lake hidden behind hills I lived in exile safely Yet my garden overflowed with olive and pomegranate trees And the longing for Umm Kulthum Washed over me like daylight For the scent of coffee And the echo of poetry on the tip of my tongue Brought my life back to me once more Nearby or 5000 miles away I've always felt so close Even closer today So if my identity is somehow a mystery My house will surely remind you of my history I yearned in my exile To be with my loved ones I thank God for the blessing Of having returned to my homeland Believe in your art and what it can do If you feel like you've lost faith I hope this re-ignites it for you Thank you tata