Breathless

Credit

I’ve read somewhere – a prophet spent

forty days in the wilderness.

A pair of brothers were absent

for fourteen years more or less.

In strange, nested mythologies,

passages marked in sands and wars.

And in here-n-now territories

time buckles under tormentors.

I heard the empty vessels wreck

my world, too close their keels and teeth.

Saw too, a knee pressed on a neck

and shut my eyes, forgot to breathe.

The mills, I’ve heard, grind small but slow –

how many more aeons to go?

V is for...Voices...and...Vegetal

is for a no-show

Just like P, there is no V in Arabic! And yet Vega is the name of a star which has come from Arabic roots, go figure!

It’s a contraction of the original Arabic name An Nasr Al Waqi (the Falling/Diving Eagle).  When the name was transliterated into Latin maybe couple millennia ago, the W got replaced with a V, because Latin did not possess any W until the Middle Ages. Fun fact, yeah? Okay, now for the serious bit -

Voices – I witnessed some come out of the Arab Spring that year of 2011. Note that the first two are practically unknown, independent bands/artistes creating these powerful protest songs with minimal resources and massive dedication. Both of these bands existed before 2011, but shot to prominence through the Egyptian Revolution, Cairokee particularly so with this number which had more than a million views in a few days after they uploaded it to YouTube. Ana Mawgood (I exist) and Sout al Horreya (The Voice of Freedom) are especial favourites of mine. 

The Arab Spring, whatever its merits or flaws, or outcomes, spiked so much creativity in so many ways, it’s given rise to a cultural bonanza – in street art and music and theatre and photography, perhaps in fine arts and literature as well.  And it broke the taboo on the arts being used for social and political activism for that period.

Mohammed Mounir is an established artiste of some three decades' solid standing, known as ‘The King’ after his film ‘El Malik Huwa El Malik’ (The King is the King). Here is his Ezzay? (How come?) 

And, last but not the least, Vegetal designs – because  Islam forbade the depiction of the human form as idolatrous, Arab designers came up with new ways of decorating stuff, a set of motifs culled from preceding cultures and re-purposed to suit Islamic principles, based on flowers and vines and trees. These are called Vegetal designs.

Detail of vegetal design. Nasrid Palace. 
14th century. Alhambra, Granada, Spain.

They also developed a highly refined set of designs based on the geometry of the circle. These started off with a central shape and radiated out, and could be repeated infinitely to cover a surface no matter how large. I can tell you there were some serious Maths nerds among the early Arab scholars, and their formidable grasp of the subject must have kept the designing rolling along pretty nicely.

Vegetal designs at the back entrance of Al Azhar Mosque,
10th century. Cairo.

These styles of decorations were known as Arabesques, their origins made plain in the term itself, though now the word is largely outdated. 

Antique style gramophone horn with vegetal motifs. Coppersmiths'
market. 2012. Sharia Muizz. Khan el Khalili. Cairo.

Vegetal designs around rim of basin. Central fountain (sabil)
in the Barquq Complex. 14th century. Cairo.

Detail of design on the inside of an arch.
Al-Ghuri Mosque. 16th century. Cairo.

Detail of ceramic tile inset on contemporary
building facade, combining geometric and 
vegetal elements. 2014. Nizwa. Oman.

Detail of design carved on old wooden door shutters. 2016. National 
Museum, Manama, Bahrain.

These motifs remain part of the Arab design portfolio, many contemporary buildings also use them suitably updated.  Have you seen any  - on buildings, or book covers, coffee mugs, photo frames, where you are? 

Posted for the A-Z Challenge 2017 

Shopping trip

Who sings because they have a song

or because they have a say
how am I to tell them apart
and will it matter anyway?
press the buttons, twist the knobs,
turn the key and speed away.

 

Potatoes, tomatoes, fresh mushrooms

a pack of meat, jars of preserves
bread is boring, but devil’s food
is far too rich, this gateau’s worse
how much stuff do we consume!
and how little it takes to starve!

 

The parking attendant comes and barks

in his fluorescent uniform
straight cut left back long look sharp -
the coins transfer smooth and warm
abject hands give clipped commands
toot the horn and whoosh off home.

 

An old man stands by the red light

he wears a rim of dusty white hair
his eyelids don’t quite fit his eyes
could be his age, could be despair
he makes no pitches of his life
just offers tissues to the midday air

 

the glass is filmed, the scenes are dimmed

but nothing’s ever dimmed enough
a breathy, jingly radio sings
about namby-pamby fancy love
peppermint fresheners cover the stink
of dust and blood, keep windows up

 

Children stand on ladders by trees

trim them into top-tail smart
others dance by the side and sweep,
their broomsticks shorter than the dirt
adults and children no longer meet
at the old house, times are hard.

 

I carry my bags on the right side

the left shoulder’s gone a bit stiff
another peace of urban slice
nothing unusual where we live
the doorman’s smile is sad and wide
he carries all bags for a small tip.

 

The rallies get long, the rallies get large

songs are sung but the audience thins
somewhere tyrants are in charge
elsewhere seasonal shopping begins
but everywhere the times are hard
and bones shake looser in nervous skins

 

you’ll tell me where to go and when

the rest is a case of semantics
you can say it’s a song, or a slogan
it’s up to you to match and mix
some sing as they fill up on reason
and for others nothing clicks.






Shared with poets for OLN@dVerse