Blessed Night
Last night the moon rose large and luminous over the pine trees behind the neighbor’s house. Always beautiful, whether showing a sliver of bare shoulder above a gown of star speckled black or staring...
View ArticleTen Years
Ten years since I last saw my older sister, Shaakirah. Ten years since I saw her daughter, then a blond haired whirlwind rushing through our house on a one night visit on their way to Morocco. Ten...
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To Breathe
This afternoon I sat in the backyard and breathed. I breathed in the sound of cicadas surrounding me with a swirling crowd of pure joyous sound. I breathed the fur trees at my back, bending to whisper...
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What We Leave Behind
Waiting. Perfecting patience. Setting goals and working towards them one baby step at a time. Looking forward, keeping trust in Allaah. These have made up the last two months, months in which we are in...
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Shadows Left Behind
The lid of the old plastic storage tub is difficult to pry off. A decade in storage has warped the plastic, wrapping it tighter around its burden of memories. A tug, a twist and it pulls free. Saudi...
View ArticleMom’s Brownies
I don’t remember a time when my mother wasn’t ill. I know in my head that she once was pain-free, moved easily, laughed with the careless abandon of a child. In my memory, though, she is always...
View ArticleWinds of Change
A few nights ago a storm front rolled across our little patch of the Ozarks, a sigh of relief after a hot spell that seemed to be lasting forever. While most of the leaves are still green, I do notice...
View ArticleGuest Post: If Only You Knew
Today’s post is a guest post from my neighbor and landlady, Alice. She wrote this in response to a visit we made to a local Dairy Queen a few weeks ago. ———- I winked at you, slowly, and you relaxed....
View ArticleFrom Darkness Into Light
“If you don’t get out of my way, I’ll shoot you.” The man looks like ex-military or military wannabe but gone to seed, his crew cut greying and his stomach protruding, hanging loosely over his...
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When They Came For Me
Last night I dreamed that I was at a gathering of many people. Many of them were strangers, all of whom were friendly and welcoming. Many of them, however, where family members, most of whom I had not...
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