Naima B. Robert – The Strangest Iftar a poem for Ramadhan in Quarantine
AI: Summary ©
The transcript describes a strangest story and describes a group of people sharing their experiences of sadness and loss. They express their love for each other and hope for a long-lasting relationship.
AI: Summary ©
The strangest Iftar
The streets are empty, quiet, hushed families gather behind
closed doors.
Somewhere in the world do walk the city streets. The skies are
clearer than they have been for 50 years and dolphins play in the
canals.
The sun sinks low beyond the sleeping skyline.
An imam alone in the mosque
alone for the very first time,
alone of the setting of the sun, rises and clears his throat
because it is time
regardless of the unfamiliar silence of the echoing emptiness
of the unknown future,
it is time
and so he stands reaches up to cup his ears tears falling down his
cheeks and into his beard he calls out a long honk Whoa, whoa, whoa.
The sound reverberates through the empty prayer.
The sound spills out into the empty streets and echoes between
the houses Oh.
The coal busts out of the receivers in 1000 different homes
Oh, and from mobile phones and television screens and the mouths
of the families youngest more than two cups his ears holds back the
tears and utters the words
all
and the words bring with them so many things
into council houses and refugee camps and villas overlooking the
sea shed one
oh
relief
because Ramadan is here once more.
And we live to see it
all
gratitude, because his promise is true. And we have never been more
grateful than now in this moment of.
Joy because in this time, we are blessed beyond measure
because we have each other
you people
humility because we are learning to treasure our health, our
elders, our carers, our workers and the simple things that we
never appreciated before.
Blood because these are the ties that can never be broken, not by
legislation or isolation or self preservation. Not even in death.
Ah
patience. Because this too shall pass as all tests do. And we have
the chance to rise and celebrate, evolve and elevate a long long
Whoa.
Love because this is what we are learning every day.
Love that we took for granted.
Love that we forgot
who to love,
how to love
and why faith because that is what has held us together so far
through the strangeness through the loneliness, through the loss
and through the fear learn
more all
because we know that this if Tom this strangest if Todd is a sign
that He loves us still For while there is life and while there is
love and while there is faith, there is hope still
and while the sun rises in the east
and sets in the west, there is Ramadan still welcome
you
all month love
it is