الأحد، 1 سبتمبر 2024

ديْن الحب


The following post is written by one of my dear students, Eman Fadl.   

 



تبدأُ الحكاية مثل كل الحكايا بقلوبٍ تدق.بحفنةٍ من الحماس نظن أننا قادرين على أن نطوي العالم في كف إيدينا..أننا قادرين بالصدق والحب أن نحقق ما نريد وأنه وإن كانت كل الأحلام مستحيلة ،فبعضها ممكن ،وأن بعض الأحلام تليق بنا أكثر من غيرنا وأنها خـُلقت لنا وخُلقنا لها.

تفاجئنا الحياة أن حلماً واحداً كان يكفينا وكنا نتمناه ونكتفي به عاندته الحياة ووقفت في وجهه.ننسى أنه ربما للأقدار أقوالٌ أخرى.

في غرور نقفُ على رأس همزة الأمل ثم تتحول وقفتنا إلى ياء الخيبة الممدودة وتائها المربوطة.نجهر بالحب والألم فلا يعنينا أن نبوء بالخذلان أو أن نقف على الحافة.لا يعنينا السقوط لأننا سقطنا قبل ذلك.لا يعنينا السقوط لأننا تعلمنا كيف نتسلق الحافة من جديد.لا تخيفنا الحافة لأننا اختبرنا أقسى مشاعر الألم والخوف والحزن والترقب.اختبرنا القاع فلم يعد شيئا جديداً.لا نتفاجأ من أنفسنا حينما ينادون على أولئك الذين لم ينجوا من الحياة فنردُ عليهم من قلب الهاوية.نكونُ أول من يرفع يده أنه لم ينجُ من الحياة ، أول من يعترف بذلك.


في الهاوية قد يبدو الأمر أننا نقضي عقوبة من نوع ما ، ولكن ما سنكتشفه لاحقاً أننا بقينا عمرنا كله خارج الهاوية نقضي عقوبة أشد.لا يحتاج المرء منا إلى زنزانة لكي يشعر أنه يقضي عقوبة.لا يحتاج المرء منا إلى قضبان ليشعر أنه يفي بحكم حـُكم به عليه كتلك الأحكام المؤبدة..فلربما يسجن المرء ذاته داخل آماله وأفكاره وطموحاته.يقضي العمر متنقلاً بينهم ، كل فكرة بزنزانة ، كل حلم بقضبان..من زنزانة إلى زنزانة ،فلا ينعم قلبه بالحرية ليوم واحد ولو كان يعيش في فضاء شاسع.


يسجن المرء ذاته داخل آمال محاطة باسلاكٍ شائكة..يظن أن عدم تحقيق هذه الآمال هو بمثابة عبور السلك الشائك الذي سيمزقه إرباً.

يخشى أن ينظر أمام السلك الشائك.لا يفكر ولو مرة واحدة أن هذا السلك هو من صنعه ،هو من يستطيع أن يزيله أو يتخذ قرارا بعبوره.لا يفكر ولو لمرة واحدة أنه خلف هذا السلك فضاءات رحبة..عوالَم أخرى يستطيع أن يصنع فيها آمالاً أخرى..أراضٍ أخرى غير الأراضي الخاطئة التي زرع فيها ذاته.

يسقط المرء في أمنياته كما يسقط في حقل ألغام حينما يفكر أنه هناك فرصة للهروب والنجاة برفع قدمه عن اللغم ،ينتهي كل شيء.

يسجن المرء قلبه بين أربعين ضلعاً ويبقى أسيراً لأمنياته.يقضي مدة الحبس الاحتياطي منتظراً تحقيقها ثم تبدأ العقوبة الحقيقية عندما يعجز عن ذلك ،فَيُنَصْب نفسه قاضيا على نفسه في محكمة يكون هو فيها الضحية والجلاد.


نحن نُسجن أول ما نسجن من قلوبنا ونتحرر أول ما نتحرر من هناك.فقد يحلق المرء بقلبه ولو كان بين أربع جدران . القلب وحده هو القادر على التحليق إن توقف فنحن لا نعيش.لسنا بحاجة إلى أعداء لنحاربهم.إنا أعداء أنفسنا.ليس أشد عدوا لشخص من ذاته التي كانت تمر عليها السنوات ،يتغير الكون ويتجدد بينما يقف هو عند الحلم الأول..الفكرة الأولى..الخفقة الأولى ، لا يستطيع تجاوزهم.تكون كل الأشياء الأولى بالنسبة له بمثابة إصبع الديناميت ينفجر مرة واحدة ،يحدث شرارة كبيرة وضوء كبير مرة واحدة ثم يخلف وراءه دماراً كبيراً وبعدها تصبح كل الأشياء تالفة غير قابلة للاستخدام أو الإصلاح.

نعم.. نبدأ الحكايات وننهيها ومع كل نهاية تنقص منا أشياء لا تعود.لا تعود أبدا ،لكننا على الأقل يجب أن نعرف طريق العودة لأنفسنا.


في الهاوية تكون هناك فرصة للتفكير والتفكير الكثير...للتأمل والتدبر والعودة إلى الوراء.نضع حقيقة أنفسنا أمام أنفسنا ،نحطم غرورها بالكشف عن أخطائها.تكون هناك فرصة أن نقرأ أنفسنا من أول سطر حتى آخر سطر ،نضع العنوان المناسب على غلاف كتاب يليقُبإخفاقاتنا أو دورة حياة سنواتنا الأهم التي نحتتنا وانتزعت منا قشرة وراة قشرة حتى عنَّ الجوهر الكامن فينا.تثبت مقولة الرومي "لا يزال المرءُ أُميَّا حتى يقرأ ذاته".تكون هناك فرصة أن نواجه أنفسنا بالحقيقة المُرة رغم ما تسببه لنا من أذى كبير.

نفتح الغرف المظلمة في القلب ،نعيد ترتيب أولوياته ،نتخلص من الأشياء المتراكمة فيه والغير مهمة..الشظايا المتكسرة..بقايا الأحلام والأمنيات وبقايا البشر.نسمح للشمس أن تطل عليها ، ننظف الجراح من الداخل قبل أن نبدأ فعلياً في حياكتها.من تلك الثقوب التي في القلب ننظر إلى عين الحقيقة التي كنا نخفيها عن أنفسنا لأنها كانت تؤذينا..حقيقة فشلنا وخيباتنا وحقيقة أننا كنا مسؤلين أيضاً عما صرنا إليه.نطل على الجراح الأخرى التي أخفيناها في العمق معتقدين أنها ستشفى من تلقاء نفسها أو أن الزمن وحده سيشفيها ، فنجد أن ما عوّلنا عليه زاد من حدتها وأن الإنكار لم ينفعنا وأنه بقدر ما أجلنا الدفع كان الثمنُ باهظاً وأنه قد حان وقت الحسابات المؤجلة.


تدرك اليمامة أنه قد انفتح القفص وبقى لها أن تمد يدها خارجا لتنزع عن نفسها القفل الذي انكسر لتتحرر وتحلق بعيداً.

تحمل قلبها الدامي على جناحها المتكسر ترحل وترحل ،تمر عليها أزمان عديدة ،صيف وخريف ثم شتاء وربيع ،فصيف وخريف ثم شتاء آخر وربيع.

ثم ذات شتاء ستمطر بغزارة فلا تتوقف عن اتباع عاداتها القديمة وتخرج لمقابلة الشتاء ،تفتح قلبها على مصراعيه لمياه الأمطار التي تغمر جرحها القديم كما المياه تسير في الشقوق المتصدعة..كترياق يشفي فينمحي أثر الجرح والندبة معا ويزول الغصن المكسور بذكراه من قلبها.هي تعلم أن ما سيشفيها يوماً ما هو الشتاء بأمطاره.


ثم يوماً ما سوف تمشي على ذات الطريق فلا يعرفها ولا تعرفه ويبقى كل شيء في المدى البعيد الباهت.

وحده البيت سيعرفها..وحده البيت سيعرف تلك اليمامة التي أحبته أكثر من الجميع وضمته بين جناحيها وخبأته دهرا تحت جلدها.

وحده البيت الذي عرف إلى أى مدىً من التعقيد يمكن أن تجرفنا الحياة..وحده البيت سيحفظ التواريخ والأحداث ،الأسماء والمشاعر ،وحده البت سيتحول إلى كائن حي ينبض قلبه عند رؤيتها.وحده البيت سيتطلع في ملامحها كما بقيتْ زمنا تتطلع فيه ، يجذبها إليه شيء خفي..أكسير غير مرئي يسير في الهواء ،فتتنفسه ،يصيبها وحدها ولا يصيب أحداً غيرها..تقف كل أشيائه حد قلبها فتخترقه.

كان شيئا من يقينٍ تهشم..يقينٍ في الطريق..يقين في الحب.

وحده البيت سيتذكر هذا اليقين.

وحده البيت سيُسدد ديْن الحب.

#ديْن_الحب

#إيمان_فضل

الخميس، 20 يونيو 2024

Abeer Elgamal





The Stain- Revising character

Hala did everything she could to remove the stain but she failed; she did everything to relieve the pain at no avail too. 

The dream she had the night Salem burned her diary recurred day in day out and the stain in the sink remained to tease and torture her every tiher she went into the  kitchen to prepare three herals a day.  She could not even tell the difference between what happened in the dream and what happened in reality.

Mornings were the worst part of the day; she woke up terrified; her body felt like a big sack of wet sand and her head had a buzzing fan that kept rolling until felt  dizzy. She tried to pull herself out of bed but could not move a limb. She stayed there defeated and betrayed by her own body. The smelll of smoke still invaded her nose and lungs; she could even hear the hissing of fire.

She did everything to remove that stain; that sooty misshaped stain bothered her like no other, not even the ink stain on Salem's pants that triggered the first 'good wife sermon' only four days after their marriage. He had forgotten to place the led on the pen in his pocket and she had to pay the price. The stain in the corner of the kitchen sink brought all the incidents back to her mind; She had used every detergent, Clorox, steel wool, thick and thin; nothing removed it. She never knew stainless steel could get stained; sometimes she was afraid the stain was only inside her mind, insisting to appear in front of her whenever she came into the kitchen, some kind of visual hallucinations. 

The smell of burning of the plastic pink cover still invaded her nose from time to time, and the hissing of the burning paper, fading away, page by page,  line by line, word by word made her feel her whole being was deteriorating, little by little; bits and pieces of herself were falling down, separating from her. The flood of humiliations, the accusation that SHE was hiding things from him; keeping her life to herself and not sharing it with him were fiercer. She never tried to hide that diary; it was always there by her books. She was sure he had seen it before, and read it perhaps; he likes to go through her stuff ever since they were engaged.  She wanted to defend herself but could not; it would have made things even worse.

Her whole body shook with fear as Salem darted into the kitchen with her diary in his hand in the same manner her mother made her entry into the balcony years ago with her old diary.   He was furious; She could hear him breathe heavily as he walked towards her with threatening eyes. She had just finished the dishes and was still cleaning the kitchen sink; she turned to face him, leaning her back against the sink. Those dizziness attacks had already started and she could anticipate one coming so she leaned to the sink to support her.  He approached until he almost touched her shaking body; she had to stretch her neck up to look at him as he shouted at her while waving the diary to her face: "how can a married woman find the time to write such stupid stuff? How can any respectable wife say she feels lonely? What else do you need more than me? Am I a piece of shit?"  He stopped to take a deep breath before he resumed:" Of course, who am I to compare with your highness little princess?!  Of course, I am no match for the heroes of your damned books! Are you still an adolescent? When will you grow up and act like a respectable wife?  How can I trust you to bring up my children if you ever had the time to get children"?!

Her tongue got stuck in her dry mouth; she could not utter a word; she wanted to tell him that she had always kept a diary, ever since  she was twelve; she wanted to defend herself; she wanted to tell him writing was her only way of combating stress; she wanted to go as far as telling him she has no one to speak to because he hated her friends and did not allow her to see them , or even to talk to her himself unless it was an order or reproach or sarcasm. But SHE just froze there, feeling cold to the bones and dizzy and wet.  He kept showering her with his accusations and then he started to tear the notebook pages to pieces and throw them in the sink behind her. She felt relieved that he threw the diary in the sink, not on the floor. Salem had two favorite insults: the first was the word "stupid" which he used to describe anyone or anything that did not live up to his expectations, the second being throwing stuff on the floor when he got mad . Then she would have to take things away, and put them back where they belonged.

What came next she did not expect; he pulled her by the hand away from the sink and turned her around to face it; the sudden move hurt her elbow and it was swollen for two weeks.  It never crossed her mind then he would go as far as burning the diary, sheets and plastic cover and all. The flames  raised above the kitchen sink and she could not take her eyes away; she kept staring at them until they faded away.  Why did she stay in the kitchen glued where he left her and took in all the toxic fumes of plastic burning? Why did not she open the window or just went out of the kitchen and close the door behind her? Why did not she turn the water on to stop the smoke that filled her lungs and the smell that poisoned her soul?

Later, it hurt so much not to be able to remember what she wrote.  The thing that Salem never understood was that her mind functioned in a totally different way from his; she was wired differently, her memory and feelings and reasoning and all. Or maybe he realized it and tried to re-wire her to satisfy his expectations!  He had re-shaped how she dressed and talked and dealt with people, why not change how she thought and felt too? No matter how important, happy or traumatizing an event was, she might forget all the details, but never the emotion or the wound it left behind. She kept asking herself what was wrong with her memory and wondered why it failed her at the age of 24?  Memory is such a funny thing; some incidents slipped away instantly and she could barely recall them an hour later. Others held tight, lurking in a hidden corner of her mind and popping out when she least expected them; fresh to the extent it could reproduce the same feelings, sounds and smell. Her body had a memory of her own, stored in the muscles, bones and skin.

This is the revised version of "The Stain".  I changed the form too and attempted to show more of the physical- psychological make up of  Hala.  I appreciate your comments and look forward to your constructive criticism.  Thanks for reading.


الأحد، 16 يونيو 2024

 


Abeer Elgamal






In the Forest

  Experimenting with Voice

 

In the forest where none can pass but you, I track you through the dark looped tunnel.  I can hear you panting heavily;  gusts of your hot breath touch my skin but I can never reach you.  I stretch my arm towards you; my muscles ach with it, my pulse quickens, the veins on my wrist pulsate loudly with the need to feel you.   I keep crawling behind you trying to keep your pace but sweet starts to bead on my forehead and seep into my eyesMy heart drums heavily; my chest feels like an old accordion struggling to stretch. I long for more oxygen; I pause to take a deep breath, I try to draw in a whole lungful of air but it feels like steel splinters piercing through my lungs..  

Suddenly there is more light than my eyes can handle; I squeeze my lids shut and slowly open them to adjust to the light; there is more space to move and air to breath but you are gone. I rise on all fours; I stretch my back upwards like a cat in the sun; every muscle and tendon ach with the attempt. I force myself into standing; my feet squawk and my knees shake under the weight. My body feels funny erect after all that crawling, my muscles are tense; my shoulders are stiff and clenching.

I look for you in all directions, there is no trace of you, only the pain intensifies in my neck with every move. I think I will lose you forever; I will never be able to reach you or touch you againWith these thoughts the pain gets wilder, creeping slowly from the right eye, to the right ear, then passing quickly from the back of the neck to the other side of the head; I feel you in my bones, defying, accusing and mad at me. The pain stretches its paws to cover the back of my head, rushing towards both shoulders. It feels like soft yet heavy liquid cement passing through tubes in my head until it hits splashing on the open surface of my shoulder plates and upper back. It dries instantly into thick sheets of hard concrete spreading layer upon layer forming a stiff heavy bulk that makes the slightest movement a torture. For a moment, I think I will never be able to move from that spot.  

Then, I can hear your voice, sweet and tender like always, calling my name. I turn around but there is no trace of you; your presence permeates every cell in my being; I feel you under my skin. Here you are walking slowly behind me, the way one creeps away from an animal that might attack. You look at me with scared eyes. Do you think I can hurt you? I turn around; I reach for your hands but you take a step backward, out of my reach and run towards the tunnel again. I try to move; I drag my feet through the dirt; I am heavy and aching; the blood vessels in my temples jump with rage; my hands ball into fists. That concrete plate on my back stretches to cover my chest. I stoop; I crawl slowly towards the tunnel, hoping to get a feeling of your breath around me.

 I wrote this piece in an attempt to experiment with a "new" voice.  The "I' and "you' here can be two humans, or may be even two animals. Possibly, a raged husband chasing down an unfaithful wife, or any other two people in some kind of an abusive relationship, or two animals in a hunt.   What did you make out of it?  I appreciate all sorts of criticism and suggestions.  Thanks for taking the time to read.