Hello Poetry
Submit your work and get some sparkles! Create free account
This is a thoroughly post-modern phenomenon. [Breathe, don't be nervous. It's fine. Wallah, you're not doing anything wrong.] Digitally arranged meetings with ostensible strangers yet with more familiarity than our ancestors could imagine. An arranged meeting, a warm greeting, a sensing, a feeling. “Are you Sami?” “I am,” as I posture for a hug. [She’s actually more beautiful than I expected. Her ample curls smell like conditioner and sunshine.] “So you’re Kuwaiti?" "Yea, I moved here when I was 18, to Kansas of all places." "To be honest, I had to look up the emoji flag from your profile. My Muslim WhatsApp group helped me out.” “Oh, okay. So you’re Muslim?” “Yea, I was raised Muslim; my mom married a Kuwaiti in the 80s, blah blah blah.” “What? Your mom lived in Kuwait?” “Yea, kinda crazy, I know, but it’s a small world.” [Small worlds make the gaps between souls smaller. Who knew such a small place could leave such a big impact on so many lives? Certainly neither of us. Serendipity? Allah y3alam.]   “Why do lesbians discriminate against bisexuals? You’d think of all people, they wouldn’t be so judgmental.” “You’d think, but you’d be wrong. It’s like we have a plague.” Her voice goes on, but my mind drifts off. [Tortoise-shell glasses, beautiful lashes, manicured eyebrows that frame flickering dark eyes, encased in a forest of curls, legging laced thighs, oh my. ::Deepsigh. Pay attention to what she’s saying! Oh my, she’s my type. This is bad. No, no, hamdilah, this is good.] “Do you want another round?” the bar keep’s inquiry snaps me back to reality. I interrupt to suggest a change of location. [Perhaps something less commercial, less public, less straight, more private, and more intimate.] “It’s only a short walk.” “Yea, let’s do it.” [By short walk, I mean three doors down from the bar. The perks of suggesting the venue.] “Shoes off?” “Yea, it’s habit, if you don’t mind.” “Of course not.” She sits, crosses her long legs, and gives me this look. My heart flutters; I remember my manners: “Can I make you a drink? What’s your poison? Gin or ***** I mix our drinks and think: [She must like me. This is good. I’m glad we did this digital dance to find romance. What a treasure, finding this post-modern habibi. Alhamdulilah, Lucky me.]
0
Sep 11, 2017
Sep 11, 2017 at 1:36 PM UTC
Post-Modern Habibti
This is a thoroughly post-modern phenomenon. [Breathe, don't be nervous. It's fine. Wallah, you're not doing anything wrong.] Digitally arranged meetings with ostensible strangers yet with more familiarity than our ancestors could imagine. An arranged meeting, a warm greeting, a sensing, a feeling. “Are you Sami?” “I am,” as I posture for a hug. [She’s actually more beautiful than I expected. Her ample curls smell like conditioner and sunshine.] “So you’re Kuwaiti?" "Yea, I moved here when I was 18, to Kansas of all places." "To be honest, I had to look up the emoji flag from your profile. My Muslim WhatsApp group helped me out.” “Oh, okay. So you’re Muslim?” “Yea, I was raised Muslim; my mom married a Kuwaiti in the 80s, blah blah blah.” “What? Your mom lived in Kuwait?” “Yea, kinda crazy, I know, but it’s a small world.” [Small worlds make the gaps between souls smaller. Who knew such a small place could leave such a big impact on so many lives? Certainly neither of us. Serendipity? Allah y3alam.]   “Why do lesbians discriminate against bisexuals? You’d think of all people, they wouldn’t be so judgmental.” “You’d think, but you’d be wrong. It’s like we have a plague.” Her voice goes on, but my mind drifts off. [Tortoise-shell glasses, beautiful lashes, manicured eyebrows that frame flickering dark eyes, encased in a forest of curls, legging laced thighs, oh my. ::Deepsigh. Pay attention to what she’s saying! Oh my, she’s my type. This is bad. No, no, hamdilah, this is good.] “Do you want another round?” the bar keep’s inquiry snaps me back to reality. I interrupt to suggest a change of location. [Perhaps something less commercial, less public, less straight, more private, and more intimate.] “It’s only a short walk.” “Yea, let’s do it.” [By short walk, I mean three doors down from the bar. The perks of suggesting the venue.] “Shoes off?” “Yea, it’s habit, if you don’t mind.” “Of course not.” She sits, crosses her long legs, and gives me this look. My heart flutters; I remember my manners: “Can I make you a drink? What’s your poison? Gin or ***** I mix our drinks and think: [She must like me. This is good. I’m glad we did this digital dance to find romance. What a treasure, finding this post-modern habibi. Alhamdulilah, Lucky me.]
SBA
Written by
American
Sep 11, 2017
Sep 11, 2017 at 1:36 PM UTC
Request permission to use this poem