Greetings from the restless kingdom of insomnia to all of you sleeping souls,
In my adolescence, I had a passion for memorizing Arabic poetry. Arabic itself is a language of unmatched beauty, but its poetry? That’s art in its purest form, a league of its own. Even now, years later, I can still recite some of my favorite poems
أحن إلى خبز أمي — there is a beautiful song too!
For a time, I let go of this beautiful, if pointless, habit. But now, it’s calling me back—this time in my new tongue, English. In English, I’m still an adolescent, barely past childhood. Fitting, isn’t it? Learning a new language is the closest thing to being reborn. And what do I do with this miraculous second life? I retrace my past life and return to an old, familiar habit. Here are the two poems I’m memorizing to entertain myself until sleep finally visits.
