While the squabbling in the National Dialogue continues, the English side of the Lebanese Blogosphere went on about the various intricacies involved. Ur Shalim observed the similarity between the Lebanese Civil war and the nascent Iraqi one, while Across The Bay and Beirut To the Beltway delved into the various details.
This week however, we’re giving politics a break; thanks to Eve in Mysterious Eve, I’m going to translate some excerpts from the Arabic side of the Lebanese Blogosphere, which usually covers more personal stuff than its English counterpart.
Eve, in her trademark contemplative and poetic style, imagines a scenario where God and an angel are assigning the destinies of newborn children in this world.
– فلتنفث رذاذاً أشقر بين خصلاته، ولتصبغ عينيه بلون البحر حين تنسكب عليه شمس المغيب. إجعله جميلاً فيفتتن به الجميع، وقويّاً فلا يحتاج إلى أحدٍ.
ينظر الملاك في قائمته المرجعيّة، ويضع علامةً قرب خانة “ملعقة الذّهب”. ثمّ يردف:
– وماذا عن الأعراض الجانبيّة؟
– سيظلّ يغرز أوتاداً في شغاف قلبه، بحثاً عن صورةٍ ليست في المرآة. ولسوف يناجي طيف النّوم، فينسى أنّ في أزرق عينيه بعضاً من بريق شمسٍ. وفي نهاية المطاف، إمّا يتناثر أو تتحطّم الصّورة في المرآة.
-Make him blond, blue-eyed, so charming that he'll seduce everyone, so strong that he won’t need anyone.
-Any side effects your highness?
-He would suffer and lose sleep, trying to be someone he’s not, forgetting about what makes him special, until he finally dissolves or has his image in the mirror shattered..
Eve gives another example, then moves to her own life:
– والآن، كم سنتسلّى!
Other bloggers were busy writing about their parents. Sasmen writes a touching poem to his mother on Mothers’ Day, which occurs on March 21st in Lebanon.
Hilal from Nostalgia wrote a piece about a father who can’t let go of his daughter, only to inspire Rat to write a letter to her father who passed away last year. Rat’s experience is unfortunately very common in our part of the world. Here’s an excerpt:
Of course, not all Lebanese entries in Arabic are personal. Some are still writing about, you guessed it, the National Dialogue.
1 comment
Mustapha, Ya3teek al Afiah. Your post on burgers and mother’s day was pretty interesting. Why wasn’t it mentioned above?