Sheikha
A. El-Miskery
I
think this is one of the best poets in Africa if not the world. Her
poems just talk to you, about you. I think she falls in that category
of poets who are just gifted. Have you ever met a fellow human being
in a lonely place and you did not even say “hi” or “hello”.
This indeed is the nature of a human being. Blacks and Whites may
disagree about their races, and males with females in those countries
where this is possible. Sometimes we refuse to say “hello” not
because we intended but because we were waiting the other person to
do so. I have been a victim of that myself. Sometimes we say to
ourselves 'I have greeted him for too long, why doesn't he ever start
it?' If you even count the number of times you do so you are wrong.
Say it if forever. It will never hurt. I wish we could change. I wish
I could change the world. Please say “hello” to a fellow human
being and you will see how much your life will change. Please read
the following poems by Sheikha A. El-Miskery. You might like them:
Just
a Word
When
dogs encounter
They
hesitate,
They
sense a kinship
Stop,
sniff, then part.
As
birds glide they tune
A
mutual note,
Beak
to beak greetings flare
To
form the music of the air.
Even
cups in a tray
Make
a sound as they touch;
Leaves
rustle;
Yet
the human voice is hushed.
Strangers
silently we passed
Only
to look behind:
The
other's head has also turned
As
if to greet my mind.
This
poem touches everybody I have met and read to, except of course a few
sadists. Please don't be a sadist.
The
first stanza talks about dogs (animals). The persona tells us that
when dogs meet they sniff, sense a kinship – they might as well
sense with the foxes – and they part.
The
second stanza is talking about other animals namely, the birds. That
when they fly in the air they sing a common tune, or note; they greet
“beak to beak” and that is part of the music of the air.
Stanza
three leaves animals and talks about cups in a tray, in the first two
lines. When you carry several cups in a tray, they hit against each
other and make certain sounds. To the persona, the hitting against
each other is not unintentional – that's just how they greet,
non-human and non-living as they are. What could be the persona's
message? The third line in Stanza three talks about more or less the
same thing: that even leaves are not silent. They rustle, and who
knows? This might be their way of interaction. Line four of the same
stanza tells it all. That compared to all that has been talked about,
“the human voice is hushed”.
Stanza
four, the persona takes us back to an incident s/he experienced,
probably the cause of his sorrow. That they met and did not greet, or
grunt to acknowledge the other's presence. They passed silently,
though it might be common among strangers, only to look back at each
other – as if to greet each other's minds. In other words, both had
a guilt about the way they acted and that is the same thing that made
them turn back.
The
Crack
Crack
the glass,
And
the crack
Will
always remain.
The
human heart
Has
the same vein;
It's
just as delicate
To
the strain.
Once
it is hurt,
It
is too hard
To
fade the stain.
Though
parts can
Fix
together –
You've
just to touch the wound,
To
make it drain again.
Message:
Do not hurt anybody in the hope that you'll be forgiven. No one
forgets what hurt him/her. No one. The first three lines tell you
that should you ever crack a glass, the crack will remain always.
Isn't that the truest thing you ever heard? Why don't you try hitting
a piece of glass and see what happens? That crack will be there till
kingdom come. We must give El Miskhery credit for such insight. We
all can easily “discover” that broken glass never mends. But to
put that in poetry so uniquely is not what we do daily.
The
fourth line talks about the human heart. Why the human heart? May be
it's because the persona wants us to know that here we are only
dealing with the human being and not anything that boasts a heart
(You might hurt a goat and it does not revenge). “The human heart/
has the same vein . . .” What about the vein? Is it the one that
breaks when you compare it to glass? The persona continues “It's
just as delicate/ to the strain.” Here we get to understand what
the persona really means. That should you pressure/strain/stress that
vein that holds/supplies the human heart it will 'crack' - “It's
just as delicate to the strain.”
Second
stanza. The persona continues talking about the human heart, not the
glass. The preposition “it” referring to the immediate noun being
the human heart. That once you hurt the human heart, you stain it, a
stain that is far too way to fade, no matter how you try. The fourth
line in stanza two refer to the glass – you can use superglue to
try and fix the glass. The persona continues, should you ever touch
that “wound” without care, it will hurt or drain again. The
choice of drain is in line with the aforementioned vein.
