الله حي
Alive is god
In the vine that grows outside my mother’s grave
Enveloped in the earth she creates
Seeping earthly light through the cracks
Even now, she takes care of her plants.
She feeds them.
الله حي
As I sit by her feet
Our bodies
Separated by warm earth
You are a comforting breeze when
I mention paradise
As I read you His poetry
And then write my own
الله حي
As the humming flies
That hover like worker bees
Dressed for a funeral
An ecosystem
Of life and death
Sustaining cycles we learn
To accept as our fate.
الله حي
As I leave the country
And all I can think of
Is how lucky I am
To get to take you with me
As we leave your grave
And live.
الله حي
Until the day you get to take me with you.
And show me the way.
Again. And again. And again.
Malak El-Quessny is a 25-year-old Egyptian neuroscientist who grew up and lived in Egypt till the age of 18 then moved away from her family, to the US, to attend college. She is presently a PhD student at UC Berkeley.