Hyena Square

This is a story of one of Tanzanian young lady Lisa and her journey of change with Aids.Please visit www.hyenasquare.org/ to know the mission of young Lisa against Aids in Tanzania.

This video was made by Maweni Farm Media. Im touched by their documentary work that they have done on Aids and on Children. The website above have section on their work.

~ Blood Orange ~

Peel and Peel
The orange surface I’m in
Satisfy your search
Knowing where I contracted pain
Dig into the citrus of me
To seize the proof
In where I strayed wrong
As you peel out of my skin
Then you slash in half my soul
So you know there is a core
Within this, a flesh pigmented in blood
Will you be afraid to contract my pain?
Infectious with just a touch
Do you find Aids in here?
Or is it death that you fear
Maybe to fall a victim of pain
But I’m born in pigmented flesh
Blotched in stain
Which appears through your eyes
It’s a stain of blood
Somehow you forgot
That I am what I always been
Blood Orange

Copyright 2007 Nasra Al Adawi

As a child I use to be afriad of eating this type of orange, thinking it was real blood. Thank you Maweni Farm Media for opening my eyes on Aids in Tanzania

Everyday Heroines

Originally uploaded by asterisque morte.

From time time, my words are tide inside of me. I wish I could express how the world is such a wonderful place to be in. Knowing that life can be about the people who you come in touch with and the blessing of knowing such unique souls out there. I’m not talking about contacts that sets you up to the ladder of status or getting a job. It’s about knowing someone, who put a smile to another soul through a gesture of reaching out to them and has no motive at all behind it. Remarkable souls standing there, their good side glows, their kindness are fruits that you pick, and relishing on their unselfish love. How blessed we are to meet such souls through our journey of living. I consider that I’m lucky to meet a number of such souls.

Touch A Woman is new page where we bring a voice of sisterhood. Don’t let your eyes pick on the greater giving; it’s the small things that they make great difference. Im delighted to announce that Amias through her website http://www.liquidplastic.net/ is featuring about women who are everyday heroines in their community. Hope you can join hands to show how small gesture of giving is the greatest of them all.

My first article on Rebbeca Musi a cancer surviovor in South Africa has been featured in Touch A Women. (Click Here) Join us to bring more about women who made this world a better place with their petals of love and giving.

Thanks Amias for your faith on me. Thanks Rebbeca for opening up to us, allowing us to see how a simple life can be an extraordinary journey. My Love and apperciation goes to Anne Marie who showers me in kindness.

Many thanks for the photo by asterisque morte in flickr.com

NNEKA - Africans

~ My African Names ~

Well I’m thankful to Szavanna of www.szavannablog.wordpress.com/ who posted a song by Nneka. Nneka is an African singer born in Nigeria. Hope you will enjoy her music.

Misali Island, Pemba, Zanzibar
Originally uploaded by 8mt.

~ My African Names ~

As I opened my eyes
Born in Africa
So they told me about Zanzibar
They poured my heart with many tales
Wrapped in stories of Stone Town
So I was born in Africa
In a womb of African Island
Embraced with Indian Ocean
With petals in pride of mix
Comoro Island glowed my ancestor’s petals
Mgazidja * I would hear my dad say
Then they poured me with other colors too
Manga * they will call, tracing my Omani heritage I suppose
Yet what it had remained Mpemba * where the Island I was born
An island famous for growing kalamti* tree
Yes I’m born in Africa
Struggling with broken Swahili
I call it price of living out of Africa
So as I stand here in Oman
It does not frighten me
When I’m called Afriqiyah *
Nor am I offended to be called Zinjibariya*
For its noting but the truth
I’m the daughter of Africa
So you can call me all those names
For nothing bothers me at all

Copyright 2007 Nasra Al Adawi

*Mgazidja is referred to people who live in Zanzibar with Comorian origin
*Manga is a Swahili word referred for those who have origin of Oman
*Mpemba is Swahili word referred to those who are born in Pemba Island
*Kalamti is one of sweet cuisine which is known in Arab world and I think in most of Eastern Africa. The say people who are born in pemba have kind of sweet teeth. So instead of cooking kalamti they actually grow it in Pemba (its known to be a joke for everyone come from Pemba Island are addicted to sugar but that’s not true)
*Afriqiyah is an Arabic word when you call an African lady
*Zinjibariya is an Arabic word for a lady from Zanzibar

Its very Strange to explain who I’m all that but its nice to be a mixed of everything…It took awhile to understand that as a child…

Out of Fragments a Rebirth

Broken Rose
Originally uploaded by Cait Surreal.

Shattered pieces
Like a broken glass
That I want to pick
Fallen petals
Out of flower womb
Yet tears don’t fall
From the flower’s eyes
You once hear that cry
When a glass crumbs Countless pieces
Shattered on floor
And I’m the flower
Can’t pick her petals back
And
Glass pieces can’t be glued
To what has once been: a glass
But I can begin a new life
As out of fallen petals
Seeds had fallen
To rebirth a new life
Not a duplicate
Of what has broken
A new begging of life
A new plant
From a fallen seeds
From shattered pieces
I Can Survive

Copyright 2007 Nasra Al Adawi

Phto by Cait Surreal ..many thanks

~Sunshine After Rain~

Winter Sunset 1
Originally uploaded by I have a bad cam.

As the rain falls on me
Its water touches my body
The mountains are gone
Still I’m whole
Cleansed with rain fall
For those what once were?
Now are gone
Still I’m whole
For the rain falls on me
Its water touches my body
Falling on all
As my soul boldly tells me
That I’m poured with Godly love
Overcoming all tests
Even stings
Of bitter sweetness life
I’m cleansed
Taken out from shallowness life
Which brought a whole me
I’m sunshine after rain

Copyright 2007, Nasra Al Adawi


My appreciation goes to National Association for Cancer Awareness (NACA) in Muscat allowing me to hold Writing Relaxation. Writing Relaxation is non profit workshop to promote use of writing as means of relaxation and to guide others that writing has a therapeutic effect. Meeting unique ladies, they really convinced me that writing, reciting, poetry can be so therapeutic to the soul..

I was very nervous conducting the workshop I did not know what to expect and also what would be the right subject to concentrate on in my workshop. I did quite a bit of search for poems written by Cancer Survivors. My success of this workshop is due to quite huge references that I got and read from http://www.oncolink.org/ and at the end of the evening the ladies were given Instant Fill in the Blanks Poetry created and authored by Alysa Cummings.

To Alysa Cummings where ever your are, I just want tell you that your poem I Use TO it had touched us all… Thank YOU.. Her poem can be viewed in http://www.oncolink.org/

The photo is from flickr.com, you can click the photo to see other photos.

~ Im A Child ~

powered by ODEO

Originally uploaded by Michael Evans.

I’m a child who wanted to play

I was ill and pain didn’t go away

I couldn’t help it but I felt so sick

My life was on a risk

Some how I could not cope

Still I could not give up on hope

With pain I could not stop my cry

To be brave I had to try

To feel well is taking so long

Trying to live, I had to be strong

I asked God to make me well again

Please God take away this pain

Healing in every step is so slow

Winning had let my life glow

From Collective Thought s

Copyright 2002 Nasra Al Adawi

Bit of this poem was selected, to be part of lyrics of a song for CANCER Awerness in India titled CAN Conquer CANcer and in aim to build that essential weapon – the “confidence” to conquer cancer. So, F6 – a small group of music enthusiasts in India – decided to try and focus their interest in music to this great cause.

Since Im not so sound with Odeo, I hope it works. I thank Don for telling me how to download recording on it.

Credits:

www.insaneinstincts.blogspot.com

Composed & Arranged by : F6 Vocals : Shyam/Harish Guitar : Vignesh Keyboard : Ganesh Recording, mixing & mastering : Gokul, Music Mint Studios, Bangalore Lyrics : Nasra Al Adawi / Harish

Photo credit:

This photo made me cry, Im touched by the work of this photgrapher his name is Michael Evans, he kindly allowed me to blog this photo in my blog. I hope who are touched with his photo can drop him a line in http://www.flickr.com/people/michaelevans/

She is who she is

So he asked who is she. She stood there to inhale, with deep breath she plunged into thinking, the words repeated to her in self form “Who am I?” Lightening of thoughts by passed her, but were too fast for her to snatch the answer, and within self walls fear started to crawl in but insisted that she knows the answer of this simple question. As everyone has to know who are they, its impossible not to know. So the question repeated her self to her, she pulled the only rope that she had in her, is being spontaneous and her voice came out not offering an answer to the question but is to convince her self that she is the person is what she is about to describe “I’m a woman, who never enjoyed her womanhood, a soul that still searches her perfect body form, I’m a sensation that lost her tip of senses, I’m emptiness that awaits for fulfillment, I’m a tear - yet too weak to engrave her path, I’m human wanting God’s acceptance, I’m a female scribbled with many emotions, I’m a body cursed in curves, I’m hunger aching for a quench, I’m all ruins but wanting to parade my wall, I’m a child who wants to stand in shoes of a man and I’m poetry waiting to be all written” As she ended pronouncing of what she is, finally she had freed her chains of trouble. She stood in bold face staring at him, yet it was piercing into him, so he can understand, that she is a woman, who has been trapped in claws of lion, but too proud to show her defeat. She has no ground to fall, so she chooses to stand despite her trembling knees.

Copyright 2007, Nasra Al Adawi

Inspired by Amor Al Habsy

My mum always tells me "You never know who can be a source of inspiration to you and who can give you a helping hand in this life", how true her words are. I recall, I did this interview about Amias, who just published her book, it was self published. Im not sure if you know the sturggle in publishing a book all by your self. As she was my blogging friend and not all that but she was so inspirational to me, she was a sister to me.

Lately I recieved a wonderful email from her, stating on the progress of her book and she will stand beside me in helping me with my Tanzanian project. She poured so much love and hope into me. Thank you Amias.

Amias has a website http://liquidplastic.net/ where she honors sisterhood and brotherhood, beyond race or religion. It about reaching out for eachother. Do visit her website to know more about it. I was truly touched as I was among the sisters http://liquidplastic.net/members/nasra.htm who was honored, wow I dont recieve such honor like that. Thank you for closing the bridges of humanity.