This is a hypothetical meeting between two tribe chiefs whose territories are separated by a deep lake that freezes throughout their long winter season. They meet up at dawn to re-enact the special bond that ties them together.

DEICING

At minus twenty-seven,
They both convened
Each leader of their clan,
And talked that dawn
By the shores of Lake Huyam.
On either side, their dominions lay.
The lake, it straddles
Some quasi-rectangular form
From beginning to end
Except for concavities on either end
And a chasm of
One nautical mile, more or less.
Depth, at its deepest,
Was deeper than bridge
Can hope to span…
Boats freeze,
Shipmasters sleep,
Shrubs yield,
Crows grieve,
The night of day…

They stood and hugged
And their tears ran;
Then each went his own way.

Ali H. Raddaoui. Laramie, on this 2nd day of February, 2010

This is a legend, real or imagined, from the depth of the human psyche. It could be a story that you’ve heard, or are capable of conceiving, unassisted, as you, child of the universe, ponder your small place among the prominent features our vast space, distant and close.
****
THE MOON AND THE CHILD

Later on as night fell
A Southern cloud
The size of Loveland
Stood between the Moon
And a brooding child…
His grandma had often said:
‘Son of my son,
When you grow old
We’ll get you wed
To Lady Moon.
For now', she added,
'Let her be just a friend.'

***

Ali H. Raddaoui. In Larmie, on this 29 night of January 2010.

احتراف بدرية بنت العيد السعيدي

أطفأت النور ووضعت رأسها على الوسادة بعد ساعات من تصفح المواقع على الشبكة. كانت عيناها تحرقانها بمفعول التحديق في الشاشة. الهزيع الأخير من الليل هادئ إلا ما يصل سمعها من مواء القطط على حاويات القمامة في الشارع. تقلبت في فراشها أربع أو خمس مرات. يبدو أن هناك جوربا أو قميصا بقي على السرير يزعجها. بحثت عنه بيدها تحت الغطاء الكثيف، تحسسته لفترة ووجدته فرمته أرضا بعصبية إلى جانب السرير. أغمضت عينيها دقيقة وهي تحاول أن تخلد إلى النوم ولكن نورا خافتا كان يتسرب من وراء البرداية. أدارت جسمها للجهة الأخرى وجمعت جزء كبيرا من الغطاء ووضعته تحت يدها. كانت ركبتاها تلمسان بعضيمها البعض وخيل إليها أن الوزن الذي فقدته في الأشهر الاخيرة قد جعل عظامها ناتئة بعض الشيء ولم تكن تحس بالراحة في هذا الوضع.... استلقت على ظهرها وأبعدت الوسادة من

تحت رأسها. كانت تكره هذا الوضع لانه مدعاة في الكثير من الاوقات الى كوابيس لا تنتهي.

***
كان لا بد لها من ان تنام. غدا يوم عمل. تضع بدرية بنت العيد السعيدي المنبه على الساعة السادسة صباحا في كل يوم من أيام العمل. انتهت عطلة نهاية الأسبوع وغدا تعود للعمل. بدرية فتاة أنيقة وموسرة في العقد الثالث من عمرها، وهي تعمل موظفة في شركة تهيأ المواقع على الشبكة العالمية لفائدة الشركات الجديدة التي بدأت تجتاح البلد. هي مسؤولة عن إخراج المواقع من بدايتها إلى صفتها النهائية. في المكتب المحاذي لمكتبها موظف في الأربعين من عمره يهتم بجانب الترجمة، فالشركات العالمية والمحلية في المدينة تسعى لان يكون لديها مواقع باللغة الأجنبية زيادة على الموقع المعرب. ***
غدا صباحا بعد أن تصل بدرية إلى المكتب، سوف تحضر لنفسها قهوة تركية ثم ستجلس لمدة ربع ساعة أو نصف ساعة للإجابة على تساؤلات الزبائن حول موعد تسليم المواقع جاهزة أو روابط في تلك المواقع لا تفضي الى صفحات أخرى، أو إدخال تحسينات على مواقع تم تسليمها قبل أسبوع أو شهر أو أكثر.
***
وصل سمعها جرس الساعة الحائطية خافتا من الصالون مشيرا إلى الساعة الثالثة. فركت عينيها وأعمضتهما بشدة. "لن ينطفا نور العمود الكهربائي قبل الساعة الخامسة صباحا فلا تربطي نومك به". بقيت أصابعها تغطي عينيها لبرهة قفزت بعدها من الفراش واتجهت إلى المطبخ. قرأت في مجلة "صحتك سيدتي" قبل أيام أن الحليب البارد مضاد للأرق. تناولت كأسا من الحليب على عجل ورجعت إلى الفراش....
***
"يا الله يا بدرية. نامي. لا تبحثي عن حسان في دردشات البحار... لا تبحثي عنه في مكاتب الشركة. حسان انسان له هواياته وهو يضعها قبل كل اعتبار. كل حديثه في الأسبوع الماضي كان عن رحلة قام بها الى ماليزيا في الصيف. إنه يحب المدن أكثر ما يحب البشر في المدينة، يحب الأطر أكثر ما يحب الصور. حسان يعطيك انطباعا بأن كل ما يشاهده في الحياة كأنما يشاهده في فلم على الشاشة الصغيرة. أنه يبدو خال من المشاعر. البشر بالنسبة له نقاط تستدعي التحليل والتوقف وتجاربه معهم نقاط يضيفها إلى سيرته الذاتية غير المكتوبة التي يشرك فيها القاصي والداني. ثم إن حسان من بيئة مختلفة، تعامله مع البشر يبدو مبرمجا ومتكلفا ومحسوبا إلى حدود الغثيان. كلا، كلا، يا بدرية بنت العيد، اصمدي. ربما خيل إليك أن قلبك قد خفق لحسان عندما شربت معه قهوة في فندق الشراتون لما نظمت الشركة ورشة العمل في الشهر الماضي... ربما كنت تظنيه متألقا ولطيفا عندما سرد نكتته عن جحا الذي سرق حماره في السوق فأخذ يهدد الناس بأنه سيفعل ما فعله والده عندما سرق حماره فقال انه اشترى حمارا آخر. يا بدور بنت العيد، ألم تسمعيه قبل يومين في الكافتيرا التي في الدور السفلي من مبني الشركة وهو يسرد نفس النكتة لهند الماطري ثم يقهقه وكانما سمع النكتة لأول مرة. كم انت سخيف يا حسان. أتتعامل معي وكأني نسخة مطابقة من غيرى من بنات البشر؟ قولي له يا بدرية بطريقتك الخاصة، اذهب إلى الجحيم يا حسان. دعني وشأني... إني نسخة من نفسي ولن أكون لك هواية إضافية، أو قولي له يا حسان انت هاو وانا تجاوزت الهوايات. أنا أحب الاحتراف، أنا محترفة في شعوري، إنا أحب الصفاء..."
***
أخذت حقيبتها من السيارة ودخلت مكاتب الشركة بعجالة. كانت تريد أن تصل إلى مكتبها قبل وصول حسان حتى لا تقع عينها على عينه. استجمعت قواها. قررت أن تفرض على نفسها التعامل معه كما لو كان لقطة في فلم طويل. مرت أمام مكتبه. رآها تمشي مسرعة وعيناها تنظران إلى الأمام كما يفعل نائب مدير الشركة. تمنى لحظة لو أنها تنظر إليه وتقول: "كيفك يا حسان؟". طأطأ رأسه مطولا. ارتعشت يداه وهو يمد يده لتناول قهوته التركية، ثم عاد ليواصل قراءة خبر عن عجز رجال الإطفاء على محاصرة حريق شب في الغابات الاستوائية منذ ما يزيد عن الشهر...

Sometimes, one is so lucky as to get inspiration from any number of sources, each in its own way shedding light on certain dimensions of aesthetic appeal though incarnating the all-important notion of harmony within the self and a natural ability to mesh with the immediate and cosmic environment.
****
THE MOON WITHIN

I visited with a pond
With a friend
In the outskirts of town
There were three moons
The one in the pond so bright
You could see the mermaids
Wiggling in water
They sang Baez, Parton, Chapman
Thrush, hill and tree chimed in...
This early a.m. hour bid me
Adieu
I walked home
The alleyways were empty
The streets asleep
And the sounds showed my way...

Ali H. Raddaoui, summer 1988/January 2010.

In this post, I take three pieces of cloth of different hues and slightly-differing sizes, and I try to weave them into one single design. Hopefully the design can have a name, and a pattern to string the fragments together. I don’t know how these pieces ended up in my cupboard, but they have been there for over a month now, pleading to be redeemed into something useful. Some of them have asked for a chance to undo them back into their original, separate, and primitive states, should they not like the final product, and so, I will wait and see how YOU receive them.

---------
DISPARATE TRACKS


By the edges of Labonte
At two in the morn,
Neither cold nor warm
The mermaids kept singing
They weren’t singing for joy
Or because they were sad
They just sang.

------------

Umm Basoos bet fifty shillings
On her second horse
In the Breeders’ Cup.
Antar ranked twenty and first.
Avenging her loss
Umm sentenced her first horse
To drinking water
From a salty source
For a month and a half.

----------

‘Peek-a-boo’, smiled Abu
‘Pick Abu’, said Baby Sue,
‘See this apple,
Well this apple ain’t for you.’
*****
Ali H. Raddaoui. January 24, 2010

In this post, I wish to share a poem and to shed some light on its inception. I imagined a situation in which there was a swimming pool for children, and another one for older people. The narrator gets into the children's pool and describes its sweet noises and joys. He remembers suddenly that at fifty plus, he is no longer a child, though he could almost see the child in him. In the midst of this thought, a life guard asks him to leave the children's swimming pool and go to that for grown-ups. At that point, he feels the water is getting rather cold. He goes to the shower to warm up a bit, and then, goes out into the street.
***
COLD DREAM

As I jumped into the pool
The life guards didn’t see me.
The water was uterus-warm
Children’s voices filled the air
They hovered and flapped their little wings
Splashed water with their feet
And threw drops on each other’s faces.

At fifty plus
I didn’t have the feet of children
I couldn’t afford to tie swimming aids
Around my waist to keep me floating
But my heart hovered
I could nearly hear the child in me…

From her promontory
A life guard whispered to me:
“Please proceed to the pool for grown-ups,
This one is only for children”.

The water turned cold
I retreated into the shower
And soon out into the street.
January 19, 2010

LEARNING TO SERVE THE COMMUNITY: MARTIN LUTHER KING SERVICE DAY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF WYOMING

In this post, I wish to talk about how the Martin Luther King ‘day off’ was celebrated here at the University of Wyoming on the 18th day of January 2010. For me, this was a unique experience and I am glad to report that it has changed me in ways I am grateful for.

First off, people celebrate the work and spirit of the Reverend Martin Luther King with a day off. Over here, and I guess in many parts of the US, this message has changed into the following: it’s the Martin Luther King Day On. Now, that’s a pretty cool pun on words but it’s also an indication that people at many levels agree that there is much work to be done yet to concretize social justice in such a manner that all the people of this country and peoples of the world benefit from this beautiful concept.

Secondly, for the first time in my life, I felt I had a chance to give to the community. How did this go? Well, as an academic, I have always served the various institutions at which I worked. I did that primarily through teaching, supervision and representation in local, national and international conferences; I have always considered that whatever we do in the classroom by way of teaching, research and supervision should be based on the concepts of social responsibility, social justice, and the common good. At times, this was my first message especially with classes conducting research, so as to provide a framework that goes beyond rigor in methodology and to instill that research work with an agenda that seeks to address social issues with the explicit aim of elaborating solutions that alleviate pain and identify injustice wherever we can see it in our areas of expertise. That was always at the level of rhetoric and in the confines of one’s area of specialization. In other words, it was more like theoretical work, more like reciting an oath of allegiance without really doing anything about it.

Over the past few days, as the message that commemoration of the life of Dr. King was to be turned into a day of action, I signed up. The University of Wyoming Center for Volunteer Service wanted to make a difference in the lives of the local community through addressing the needs of its less fortunate members of this community who couldn’t afford to weatherize their homes and workplaces. Those who signed up for this day of service were to help with energy saving through sealing windows and doors in residences and workplaces where the cold Wyoming winter was more acutely felt and also through changing light bulbs with more economical ones. About 150 volunteers showed up the Wyoming Union, preparations were made and as many as fifteen teams were dispatched to where they could make a difference in Laramie, out of their own will, desire, and commitment to helping solve real problems.

There are many other aspects I could comment upon, but I wish to get back to the idea of giving back, of leaving the comfort of one’s home, office and the classroom pulpit so to say, the comfortable confines of the academic’s ivory tower, to really go meet people and impact their lives, in the most modest and humble way possible. I guess this is the first time ever I find me among a group of students, interns, administrators, and faculty, led by a student leader, doing something about what we have been theoretically repeating for years on end. This is a great feeling. I am glad ‘community service’ for me is no longer just a beautiful banner to carry and that there will be further chances to put it into practice.

As a result of this action, I feel without hyperbole that I am a changed person. This may seem like a small experience to some, but I believe it has the capacity to change a persons’ worldview; we all live in what is often termed ‘a-me culture’, but being able to disrupt this equation and to donate part of one’s time and energy to social issues with immediate impact on the lives of others is a unique feeling.

What I have learned is more than I can talk about in this brief post, but I will add that in the process, I have also learned how to winterize my own apartment and have come to meet a fine group of people with whom I have spent quality time. In the end, it is correct to say that this was group effort, and that together, we can a make a difference.