Songs Poem by nadia abduljabbar

“I guess the breeze your
Soft steps,
And Whisper your yell”,
So explained father
To me, while putting
Me on his lap,
One of Umm Kalthoom’s
Songs, when I was
Only five.
How could he foresee
That I am going to
Be a poet,
I never knew.

I was brought up
To listen to Nagat,
Faizah and the rest of
That great generation
Of singers,
I loved old Iraqi and
Lebanese songs,
Few Syrian and
Northern African Songs.

I was and still fond of only three
Songs from Arabia;
One from the south:
I Follow my Heart:
“Ana Ba’atba’ Galbi”,
“Wardak”,
And “ We differed who loves the other one More”:
“ Ekhtalafna”.

Now days, I am
Open to a new
Experience of
Listening to many of
My Home town songs,
And I like it,
Especially because
Some of them remind me
Of mother and aunt.

We never lose our
Identity however
Far we go.
I still love old English songs:
Such as “Why is my Heart so Light” and
“Those Were the Days my Friend;
They are attached to my adolescence.

Now most my time is
For Qur’an,
Yet I still love songs,
But I try as much as I can
To minimize things that
Attach me to dreams
Otherwise, I will lose myself.

Jeddah,

8 April,2013