While rifling through some drawers in our guest room, I found the printout of what I wrote nearly 17 years ago, after receiving the news that my grandmother had passed away. I didn’t fly to the US for the funeral, and instead, wrote the essay below to be read aloud during the service. Anything written in italics is information I’ve added to clarify different...
I‘ve reached the sobering conclusion that it’s better to think with your head than with your heart, for when you let your heart take control, it often runs amok, leaving your head, your sanity and possibly your credibility in a ditch somewhere. When you let your heart take control – or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that when you allow your mind to cede...
Close your eyes and try to see Try to imagine how different we’d be If we lived in a world Where no one would care If your very best friend Was a big purple bear Where color of skin Is never a sin Where it matters much more If you’re nice or you’re mean Than whether your skin Is pink, blue or green Close your eyes and try to see Try to imagine how good it...
Once upon a time Or so the stories go Girl meets boy Boy meets girl And feelings start to flow In fairy tales it all works out And love can conquer all When “happily ever after” Can catch you when you fall But I don’t believe in fairy tales Where true love saves the day I just can’t believe in fairy tales ’cause life gets in the way You might say...
Sometimes the world just gets you down And times are rather tough You’re feeling kind of out of place Your mind is filled with fluff You’re at a loss for what to do You don’t know where to go So you do what just comes naturally And grab a cup o’ joe When morning finds you far too soon And gives your face a slap It’s clear you haven’t slept...
When I see the world around me It sometimes brings me down Wars and devastation Green that’s turned to brown I try to right some wrongs Effect the change I can We all need to do our bit to save the world from man Some people say that I’m naïve That I can’t go changing minds But if we do what we always do No changes will we find So think about this world we...
She stops and she sighs And she thinks of his eyes As she speculates on all that lies behind The penetrating gaze That’s been haunting her days And tickling the corners of her mind She imagines his touch Loves his fingers so much As they draw lazy circles on her skin Slowly here, gently there Getting tangled in her hair Aiding and abetting every sin She’s falling...
Bleary-eyed and body weak The lack of sleep begins to wreak Havoc on my tired soul Exhaustion starts to take its toll I try to rid my mind of thought But sadly it is all for naught For slumber doesn’t want to come Despite the brain and body numb So I sit and try to write Listening to sounds of night Feeling just a little punchy Damn it! Now I’ve got the...
Against a backdrop of terror attacks being perpetrated by Hamas, Israeli and Palestinian leaders are currently meeting in Washington DC for the first direct talks in almost two years. Yesterday, I was asked by a producer at the BBC World Service radio show “The World Today” to address Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu...
I send you off to school today, my precious little boy Hand-in-hand we reach the gate – trepidation mixed with joy I hold you close and kiss your hair before I say goodbye And hope that you won’t see the tears that slowly fill my eyes I wish you well in school today, my precious little boy An adventure to embark upon; a journey to enjoy I know it may be tough at times; I...