A woman of pain

Publisher: Arab Publishing Foundation Author: Mona Amer Section: Poetry and Stories Language: Arabic Pages: 111 Summary: I sensed a great matter inside me the moment I saw his tears for the first time. The compassionate mother's spirit inside me awakened. Could that lifeless land rejoice with drops of dew that fell in times of drought and rejoice at his return, pure for herself? She is a playful companion on the journey of life, descended from a time of joy and overflowing laughter, childhood, and innocence. I wonder, is this a sign of his return to her, saving her coming days from the volcano of regret, pain, and disappointment... Or does she surrender to another whom she just discovered dancing deep inside her, triumphant that he returned to her with a wounded heart and a hurt soul? Her mother's prayers supported her ("May he be guided and not taste hardship"), but suddenly love rises within her to settle this conflict among three selves—hoping for his return, suffering from his neglect, and triumphant at his downfall. That rooted love within her, like the palm tree standing in her grandmother's old house, blooming even today, rises to slap this mischievousness inside her, silencing it as soon as words leave her throat with her calm, steady voice. She says, "I am not upset."