When you come from the West
And you think of Islam
You perhaps think about wars, and ladies covering their faces, and a strange language,
But I am from the West,
And I live in the East,
And when I think about Islam,
I think about Friday mornings in Cairo.
And how, for a few hours before midday, the city is finally, fleetingly still-
sleeping bodies still in their houses, dogs still laying, nothing rouses.
And how, since yesterday's sunset and yesterday's Mahgrib, that Lady Cairo has quietened; shhhh, she says: shhh, calm down, it is nearly Friday.
Friday mornings are sacred here.
We sleep in, soundly resting knowing that no-one and nothing else is awake either.
Supermarkets are empty, streets are solemnly sleeping.
And so we- the outlanders- acquiesce; absorbing the quiet that has fallen like a blanket of fog over an otherwise boisterous metropolis. We sit, and we listen to the silence, and respect the muting of activity that Friday mornings demand of the society we exist in.
At midday, the Azaan calls: and the city springs to life again- adhering to their duties, honouring their callings, celebrating their civilisation.
And we know it will be noisy again-
Until Friday, before midday, when Cairo sleeps in.
-
Author:
Cressida Cane (Pseudonym) (
Offline) - Published: December 11th, 2022 14:33
- Comment from author about the poem: Friday mornings are the only time in Cairo that you will find some peace.
- Category: Unclassified
- Views: 6
- Users favorite of this poem: L. B. Mek
Offline)
Comments1
(Brilliant!
a great write, reaching beyond
the toxic propaganda battle lines
to depict the humane reality, veiled
behind agendas and divisive politics..
thank you for sharing, dear Poet)..
without 'the east'
(we must be careful of our reliance
on western tailored history's
maps, dates and terms)
civilisation
would have missed out
on algebra
on algorithm
on Aristotle,
how about functioning toilets
whilst the west's, waste
was still being dug outhouses
or
'select' Egyptians being buried
along with their flat packed warships
(before sweden ever had an ikea, idea)
while the west was making a breakthrough with its river boats,
and the list goes on...
Thank you! Yes, we are from "western" countries but raising our children in the Middle East, and it is not what everyone thinks it is. Human side, indeed. I am mostly interested in that part.
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