I search for words to describe and tell <br />Of that bleak unfamiliar picture of Cairo <br />That only I am seeing <br />But the words will not come to my rescue. <br /> <br />Even as I reach out and speak to others <br />Thinking that maybe through sharing <br />I’ll get a prompt or some cue, <br />that will help me write <br />The words continue to evade me. <br /> <br />So I try harder and wait for days <br />Hoping that maybe those lines will come together <br />And the image will be clearer <br />And the sketch will burst into a full color portrayal <br />Of that gloomy thing that I am thinking <br />And that the visual will be a narration <br />That gives a voice and music to the drama <br />That I am experiencing <br />And the bits and pieces will fall together <br />And in unison speak out for the characters in a story <br />That is in Cairo unfolding. <br /> <br />But all the time as I am waiting <br />I am outrun by ghosts and demons that come racing <br />And I can’t see through the dust <br />that they are in the name of religion <br />throwing in my face <br />And I can’t hear anything <br /> but their fanatic screaming <br />And I can’t make my voice heard over their ghoulish howling. <br />I am out of words and out of breath <br />And I have nothing better to do than <br />Waiting …<br /><br />Ghada Shahbender<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/a-bleak-picture-of-cairo/
