{"id":3258,"date":"2024-05-04T10:25:58","date_gmt":"2024-05-04T02:25:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/?p=3258"},"modified":"2025-04-21T20:38:25","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T12:38:25","slug":"conclusion-and-other-poems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/conclusion-and-other-poems\/","title":{"rendered":"Conclusion and other poems"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aminah Fernando Kunting<\/em><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sometimes,
\nthe buzz of the world suffocates.
\nSometimes,
\nI have to focus on simply breathing.
\nI force myself to feel
\nthe air enter my nose,
\nvisualize it go down my lungs
\nand feel them expand.<\/p>\n

Sometimes,
\nI have to close my ears.<\/p>\n

Most times,
\nI try to find the peace.
\nMostly,
\nI swallow my pride and anger
\nand hope people learn what it means to be kind
\nMostly,
\nI grapple at air and old wisdom
\ntrying to remember what sabr means.<\/p>\n

But
\nmost often,
\nI simply shuffle my feet,
\nand tell myself this is all momentary.<\/p>\n

Other times,
\nI blink
\nand
\neveryone is older
\nthen I wonder,
\nwhere has all the time gone.<\/p>\n

in those times,
\nI regret this:
\n\u201cI could have done better\u201d<\/p>\n

and yet,
\ntime always seems to catch up
\nright
\nbefore the promise.<\/p>\n

Still.
\noften, lately
\nfor now,
\nI keep my pace
\nsteady.
\nI
\nwatch one foot ahead of the other,
\nwalk as steady as I can
\nto the end.<\/p>\n

til before then,
\nI yield to gratitude.
\nremember:
\nI am not
\nwhole,
\nyet.
\nand it is
\nnot
\nthe end,
\nyet.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I Dread<\/strong><\/p>\n

When, inevitably, I shall be asked to spell fear;
\nI will show you Gaza\u2014
\nhands, scratched and bruised,
\nblistered.
\nstill searching under the rubble
\nfor any sound of life.<\/p>\n

If I were to be asked to spell fear;
\nI will show you Gaza\u2014
\nfractured lungs, desperate for air
\nwheezing
\nstill laughing at little joys
\nof seeing children alive.<\/p>\n

If I were to be asked to spell fear;
\nI will show you Gaza\u2014
\nbattered arms and legs, unable to walk or grasp
\nimmovable
\nstill with a smile to pass, they have fought
\nto hold their right.<\/p>\n

If I were to be asked to spell fear;
\nI will show you Gaza\u2014
\n<\/span>disfigured shapes, all just a mass
\nignored
\nstill a full life left behind them
\nalways hoping for the truth<\/p>\n

If I were to be asked to spell fear;
\nI will show you Gaza\u2014
\ndamaged, scarred, maimed
\npatient
\nstill seeking to relieve others of their hardship
\ndespite of<\/p>\n

If I were to be asked to spell fear;
\nI will show you Gaza\u2014
\n<\/span>lips, despite despair
\nconsistently moves: \u201cHasbunallahu Wa Ni’mal Wakeel \u2013 \u062d\u064e\u0633\u0652\u0628\u064f\u0646\u064e\u0627 \u0627\u0644\u0644\u064e\u0651\u0647\u064f \u0648\u064e \u0646\u0650\u0639\u0652\u0645\u064e \u0627\u0644\u0652\u0648\u064e \u0643\u0650\u064a\u0644\u064f\u201d
\nrepeating
\n\u201cAllahu Akbar\u201d. \u201cAllah is sufficient for us.\u201d
\nContinuously. Relentlessly. Despite of.<\/p>\n

If I were to be asked to spell fear;
\nI will show you Gaza\u2014
\nbecause I cannot spell fear
\nwithout unearthing and unveiling its true manifestation:
\nthat even in ruins,
\nwith grace and quiet,
\nwill not falter and break in this dunyaa.
\nthat, even in obliteration,
\nstill trust Allah.
\ndespite of.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cAbd, Abd\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I keep forgetting
\nit is not how much I do
\nnor how much I forgive;
\nit is not how many
\norphans I feed
\nor the number of
\nsunnah prayers I pray;
\nit is not how lacking I have behaved
\nor how patient I have tried to become;<\/p>\n

I keep forgetting
\nit is not me or my deeds
\nbut
\nrather,
\nAllah\u2019s Mercy
\nAllah\u2019s Greatness
\nAllah\u2019s forgiveness<\/p>\n

that keeps me
\nhere,
\nstill.<\/p>\n

\u2026<\/strong><\/p>\n

The flower opens quietly
\nits petals ruffle slightly
\nas the wind blows<\/p>\n

the stem stands firm
\nand rooted to the ground
\nirrespective of where the head sways.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"

Rami Kanso’s Kiss of Freedom (2023)<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Aminah Fernando Kunting Conclusion Sometimes, the buzz of the world suffocates. Sometimes, I have to focus on simply breathing. I force myself to feel the air enter my nose, visualize it go down my lungs and feel them expand. Sometimes, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3258","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3258","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3258"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3258\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3303,"href":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3258\/revisions\/3303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3258"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3258"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bangsamororeview.com\/main\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3258"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}