Aya

“سقف بيتي حديد ** ركن بيتي حجر
فاعصفي يا رياح ** وانتحب يا شجر
واسبحي يا غيوم ** واهطلي بالمطر
واقصفي يا رعود ** لست أخشى خطر
سقف بيتي حديد ** ركن بيتي حجر
من سراجي الضئيل ** أستمد البصر
كلما الليل طال ** والظلام انتشر
وإذا الفجر مات ** والنهار انتحر
فاختفي يا نجوم ** وانطفي يا قمر
من سراجي الضئيل ** أستمد البصر
باب قلبي حصين ** من صنوف الكدر
فاهجمي يا هموم ** في المسا والسحر
وازحفي يا نحوس ** بالشقا والضجر
وانزلي بالألوف ** يا خطوب البشر
باب قلبي حصين ** من صنوف الكدر
وحليفي القضاء ** ورفيقي القدر
فاقدحي يا شرور ** حول قلبي الشرر
واحفري يا منون ** حول بيتي الحفر
لست أخشى العذاب ** لست أخشى الضرر
وحليفي القضاء ** ورفيقي القدر”
― ميخائيل نعيمة

“Among other things, you'll find that you're not the first person who was ever confused and frightened and even sickened by human behavior. You're by no means alone on that score, you'll be excited and stimulated to know. Many, many men have been just as troubled morally and spiritually as you are right now. Happily, some of them kept records of their troubles. You'll learn from them—if you want to. Just as someday, if you have something to offer, someone will learn something from you. It's a beautiful reciprocal arrangement. And it isn't education. It's history. It's poetry.”
― J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

“As a society, you were unwilling to reflect upon the shared pain that united you with those who attacked you. You retreated into myths of your own difference, assumptions of your own superiority. And you acted out these beliefs on the stage of the world, so that the entire planet was rocked by the repercussions of your tantrums, not least my family, now facing war thousands of miles away.”
― Mohsin Hamid, The Reluctant Fundamentalist

“We all live in a house on fire, no fire department to call; no way out, just the upstairs window to look out of while the fire burns the house down with us trapped, locked in it.”
― Tennessee Williams, The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore