MALAK KALMONI CHEHAB

 

 

Bright Darkness

 

The soulless soul seeps into the sewers

Hiding, in hindsight, from historic hatefulness

Heaving the heavy heart into the whole

Whose empty empathy embarks on evil's espousal.

 

The darkness drives deep despair, hollow.

Wishing for the weight to endow

You with power that lights the living

 Loving locations, landing, planting,

 

Grounding all that's heavy, eviscerating

Its emptiness into brightness.

 

Brilliantly bright spirit of the night

Shine your hopes, colors, freedoms, and love

Into all whose darkness is encompassing the light.

Let the waves and wind blow away the cobwebs

Of emptiness, replacing them with a dove's

Soaring aspirations, imagination, and freedoms.

 

Resistance By Pen

 

My pen is out of breath,

Its ink seeps, like blood,

Into the world's depth:

War, murder, violence never rest, but fed

 

The monsters who've sped

Into the world with evil intent.

We've witnessed people who fled

From tanks, bombings, that lent

 

A chorus to their horror:

Buildings collapsing, killing innocents

As a lesson to those who rebel for

A haloed cause, freedom for all defending lands

 

Taken by force, housing history

That imbues the people with pride,

Faith, theology and strength over impunity

That tries to dehumanize those who never hide.

 

As the pen's ink dries,

So does blood spilt in honor

Of faith that life is just a test that multiplies

When placed under vigorous strain, heralder

 

Of achieving a heavenly place in paradise

Which favors those placing their fervor

For the hereafter above the joys, desires of life.

 

End

 

Reclaim your humanity.

Reclaim your biology.

Reclaim your nature.

Reclaim your compassion.

Reclaim your imagination.

Reclaim your wonder.

Reclaim your freedom for all.

 

Be free to assert your identity,

Culture, language, traditions,

That are innate to your sobriety

In accepting and being accepted humanity

Who communicate and brew,

Brew trouble through dissention and few

Can refute their rhetoric as it becomes

 

Historic, in that it's repeated while

Others murder and kill as bile

Rises, suffocating the victim

With his own terror while trying to go to prom

With friends and have fun...

While life throws bombs and they run, run, run.

In the end, they too come to their end.

 

MALAK KALMONI CHEHAB

 

MALAK KALMONI CHEHAB is a poetess from Canada who has survived 2 Civil Wars: Ghana and Lebanon. She moved to 3 continents before the age of 11, and internalized the changes, experiences, racism, violence and transforms them into poetry.  She has self-published a book, Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, and Oh Woman in the ArliJo literary magazine, issue 187, Intentions in Unseal Your Greatness, been a verified reader for the Canadian book club awards, and her book was on their finalist list for 2023, poetry category.  Moreover, she works on her blog and wins certificates on poetry/ writing groups in Facebook.