"On a Sunny Evening"

The sun has made a veil of gold
So lovely that my body aches
Above, the heavens shriek with blue
Convinced I've been smiled at by some mistake.
The world's abloom and seems to smile
I want to fly but where, how high?
If in barbed wire, things can bloom
Why couldn't I? She won’t die!

Anonymous

Hope

In desperate hope I go and search for her in all the corners of my room;
I find her not.
My house is small and what once has gone from it can never be regained.
But infinite is thy mansion, my Lord,
And seeking her I have come to thy door.
I stand under the golden canopy of thine evening sky
and I lift my eager eyes to thy face.

I have come to the brink of eternity from which nothing can vanish-
No hope,
No happiness,
No vision of a face seen through tears.

Oh, dip my emptied life into the ocean,
Plunge it into the deepest fullness.
Let me for once feel that lost sweet touch in the allness of the universe.

"Tagore"

Another Joke (a reality for Arabs) from Dear Bob

A Japanese doctor said, "Medicine in my country is so advanced that we cantake a kidney out of one man, put it in another, and have him looking forwork in six weeks."

A German doctor said, That's nothing, we can take a lung out of one person, put it in another, and have him looking for work in four weeks."

A British doctor said, "In my country, medicine is so advanced that we cantake half of a heart out of one person, put it in another, and have them both looking for work in two weeks."

A Texas doctor, not to be outdone said, "You guys are way behind. We took aman with no brains out of Texas, put him in the White House and now half the country is looking for work!

Bull--- and Brilliance

A wealthy old lady decides to go on a photo safari in Africa, taking her faithful aged poodle named Cuddles, along for the company.
One day the poodle starts chasing butterflies and before long, Cuddles discovers that he's lost. Wandering about, he notices a leopard heading rapidly in his direction with the intention of having lunch.
The old poodle thinks, 'Oh, oh! I'm in deep doo-doo now!' Noticing some bones on the ground close by, he immediately settles down to chew on the bones with his back to the approaching cat. Just as the leopard is about to leap the old poodle exclaims loudly, 'Boy, that was one delicious leopard! I wonder if there are any more around here?'
Hearing this, the young leopard halts his attack in mid-strike, a look of terror comes over him and he slinks away into the trees. 'Whew!' says the leopard, 'That was close! That old poodle nearly had me!'
Meanwhile, a monkey who had been watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, figures he can put this knowledge to good use and trade it for protection from the leopard. So off he goes, but the old poodle sees him heading after the leopard with great speed, and figures that something must be up. The monkey soon catches up with the leopard, spills the beans and strikes a deal for himself with the leopard.
The young leopard is furious at being made a fool of and says, 'Here, monkey, hop on my back and see what's going to happen to that conniving canine!
Now, the old poodle sees the leopard coming with the monkey on his back and thinks, 'What am I going to do now?', but instead of running, the dog sits down with his back to his attackers, pretending he hasn't seen them yet, and just when they get close enough to hear, the old poodle says.
'Where's that damn monkey? I sent him off an hour ago to bring me another leopard!

Moral of this story....
Don't mess with old farts .. age and treachery will always overcome youth and skill! Bull--- and brilliance only come with age and experience.

On Fairouz (II): Lie to Me Please

Please come over,
Don’t pass by!

Lie to me. Is it sinful to lie?

Promise me that you will come over
And then,
Do not pass by if you do not want to.

Just lie to me.

My door, my needles…
They greet you.
My pillow greets you,
My stories greet you.

Could you lie to me please?

Guess what!?

I am extremely happy for today and after long months now I have been trying and exercizing New Testament Greek and Today I was able to read and translate on my own the following verse:

"Εγω είμι Ό άρτος ό ζων εκ του ουράνου κάτάβάς. Κάι ό άρτος δε όν εγω δωσω ή σάρξ μου εστιν ό ύπερ της κοσμου ζωης."

"I am the living bread which came down from heaven. And also my flesh is the bread which I shall give for the life of the world."

John 6:51.

The Naughtiest Boy Ever

This is what his mom says about him. Why is it all the times when we ask parents about their kids, the first response is that they are naughty and just don’t listen to you...?

Looking at the following picture ye could see my nephew, Joseph, receiving from the hand of his mom a candle, a white candle that goes perfectly with his heart and why…? To celebrate the Palm Sunday…welcoming our victorious Jesus Christ, our Savior, and the one who loved all.

Joseph’s mother says that he is naughty while Jesus says to his mom, if you do not become like this child, you will never enter the kingdom of God…Sister…this whole image leaves you a naughty girl.

Just Be with me

Let me not pray to be sheltered from
Dangers but to be fearless in facing
Them.

Let me not beg for the stilling of
My pain but for the heart to conquer it.
Let me not look for allies in life's
Battlefield but to my own strength.
Let me not crave in anxious fear to
Be saved but hope for the patience to
Win my freedom

Grant me that I may not be a
coward, feeling your mercy in my
success alone; but let me find the grasp
of your hand in my failure

Don't You Forget about Me

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide!
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim, its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O thou who changest not, abide with me.

I need thy presence every passing hour;
What but thy race can foil the tempter's power?
Who like thyself my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, O abide with me.

I fear no foe with thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victor?
I triumph still, if thou abide with me.

Hold thou thy Cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom, and point me to the skies:
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me!

The Child in the Man

Walking up Mount Lebanon, heading towards Sayyedat al-Nourrieh, you have the feeling that the sea is under you and God is lurking behind the blue curtain of the sky...but what you are feeling is the following:

Come hold me now
I am not gone
I would not leave you here alone
In this dead calm beneath the waves
I can still hear those lost boys calling

You could not speak
You were afraid
To take the risk of being left again
And so you tipped your hat and waved and then
You turned back up the gangway of that steel tomb again

And in Mott street in July
When I hear those seabirds cry
I hold the child
The child in the man
The child that we leave behind

The spotlight fades
The boys disband
The final notes lie mute upon the sand
And in the silence of the grave
I can still hear those lost boys calling

We left them thereWhen they were young
The men were gone until the west was won
And now there's nothing left but time to kill
You never took us fishin' dad and now you never will

And in Mott street in July
When I hear those seabirds cryI hold the child
The child in the man
The child that we leave behind

On Fairouz: You Still Come to My Mind...,

He came by and asked me whether April knocked at my door yet…I hid my face, and my house flew up with me and disappeared. I wanted to open to him and talk to him about love,,,I looked up and did not see but the flowers at the door…

You still come to my mind…,
Oh ye the Moon of all beautiful,
Oh ye the beautiful Evenings of October,
Oh ye my precious Gold.

You still come to my mind…,
Oh ye Beautiful and Arrogant,
Oh ye spread Beads on my high roof.

Summer has passed by along with its promises, along with love,
And we did not hear from you oh Moon,
And no one waved to us with a hand,
And the nights keep dragging on and passing way, ....and meanwhile you still come to my mind.

(To Listen to this Arabic Song, Click on: http://music.6arab.com/fairooz..ba3dak-3ala-bali.ram)

A Joke all the Way from America

The Pope and George W Bush are on the same stage in front of a huge crowd. 'His Majesty' and His Holiness, however, have seen it all before, so to make it a little more interesting, the president says to the Pope, "Did you know that with just one little wave of my hand, I can make every Republican in the crowd go wild?" He doubts it, so he shows him. Sure enough, the wave elicits rapture and cheering from every Republican in the crowd. Gradually, the cheering subsides. The Pope, not wanting to be out done by such a level of arrogance, considers what he could do. "That was impressive. But did you know that with just one little wave of MY hand I can make EVERY person in the crowd go crazy with joy? This joy will not be a momentary display like that of your subjects, but will go deep into their hearts, and they will forever speak of this day and rejoice." The president seriously doubts this, and says so. "One little wave of your hand and all people will rejoice forever? Show me."
So the Pope slapped him.

A Letter from a Homsi Mother to Her Daughter Living Abroad

Dear daughter,
I write to you a few words in order for you to know that I am writing to you. So if you get this letter from me, it will be a sign that it reached you. If it did not reach you, would you please tell me so I could send it again to you? By the way, I am writing to you very slowly for I know that you cannot read quickly.
Recently your father read a research paper pointing that most of the accidents take place a few kilometers away from our house and that it is why we decided to move into another apartment. The new house is really nice, there is even an automatic washing-machine but I do not know whether it is working or not. Yesterday I put some laundry in it and I pulled the thread above it and the whole thing disappeared in a hole. I guess that I need to read the instructions to know how it works but I cannot find that instruction booklet.
The weather is really nice around here. It rained here last week only twice. The first time was for three days and for four days for the second time!
As for the coat you were looking for, we were able to find it but your uncle says that it is expensive to send it to you for it is quite heavy because of its metal buttons, and that is why we removed the buttons and put them the coat's pocket.
By the way, your father got a new job after waiting for so long where 500 people are under him. He takes care of the grass in a nice graveyard next to the house.
Your younger sister got married and now she is expecting something really nice to come but we do not know whether it is going to be a boy or a girl; that is why we are not sure whether you will be an uncle or an aunt! Your sister said that in case it was a girl, they would name her after me. So strange! This is the first time I hear that people could name their daughter, Mother.
Your brother got us into a trouble two days ago. He forgot his keys in the car and had to go back home to get them to unlock, otherwise I had to wait inside the car for the next day.
With Love
Your Compassionate Mother
P.S. I wanted to put some money in the envelope for you but I remembered to do so after I sealed it.