I have witnessed stranger things in life
but none quite as strange as this,
the city is a kaleidoscope of emotions
and sounds
with jasmine flowers swaying in the wind
here the sun is sweltering hot and yet
the heart is somehow content as above the sky grows faint.
In the spaces
between hectic everyday routine and leisurely hours
the city wins you over
with cinnamon bread, bowl of nuts and buttermilk,
here the atmosphere is sweet-toned
when a stranger lends a helping hand regardless of caste and colour
of time and place,
I have spent many an evening marveling upon idiosyncrasy of this kind–
the city is peopled with hope not melancholia,
with viewpoints
both new and old embossed upon the asphalt concrete,
tell me
would you like me to give you a tour of my home country?
Photo credits: AQ Arif Oil Painting, Karachi
For Anmol’s prompt “On Wandering & Observing.” 🙂
Posted for Poetics @ dVerse Poets Pub
And on Tuesday Platform @ Real Toads
Yours is a gentle city, Sanaa, and I like the way it ‘wins you over / with cinnamon bread, bowl of nuts and buttermilk. I especially love the idea of a city ‘peopled with hope not melancholia’. I would love a tour of you home country!
Awww gosh! ❤️ Thank you so much, Kim 😀 so glad you enjoyed it! ❤️
Those spaces are the places where you truly find the heart of a city. What a beautiful tribute to your home.
Thank you so much, Sarah 😀 so good to see you ❤️
This was excellent Sanaa – and I would love a tour!
Thank you so much, Rob 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
your words painted a lovely picture. Gracias for sharing.
Thank you so much, Marcoantonio 😀 so glad the poem resonated with you ❤️
There is something about street food, it does exactly as you say ” win one over”
Nice one Sanaa
Thank you for dropping by my blog
Much🚶♂️🚶♀️💙love
Thank you so much, Gillena 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
I’d love to go on a walk with you, Sanaa! The sights you present, with the old and the new mingling in a comfortable, albeit idiosyncratic whole, make me so want to experience it in this light. This is how it feels while walking through the bylanes of Old Delhi too. The kaleidoscope of the city is radiant in your words. 🙂
Arz kiya hai…
“kabhi kisi ko mukammal jahaan nahin milta
kahin zamin kahin aasman nahin milta
tamam shahar mein aisa nahin khulus na ho
jahan ummid ho is ki vahaan nahin milta”
Waaah Waah ❤️ To that I would have to say;
“Dil giraftaa hi sahi bazam sajali jaye,
yaad-e-jaanan se koi shaam na khaali jaye
rafta rafta yehi zandaan main badal jate hain,
ab kisi shehar ki buniyaad na daali jaye.”
Thank you so much, Anmol 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️
(and thank you for the lovely prompt) 🌹
Your blog kicked me off as I tried to post….so let’s see. Your mellow moon colored all you perceived and shared. Big cities, for me, are shape shifters according to my moods.
(Sorry to hear that perhaps it was a server connection problem) Thank you so much, Glenn 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
What a beautiful walk you have take us on Sanaa! I would love to walk with you.
Thank you so much, Linda 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️
I like the sights and scents of this city. Most of all, I like the kindness that emanates from it. ☺️
Thank you so much, Imelda 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
Big cities is so much about all the people you meet… and to really see and sense a city the best way is to see it with a local guide…
and many times the local guide will see his own city in different light in company of a stranger.
Thank you so much, Bjorn 🙂 so glad the poem resonated with you ❤️
It sounds like a wonderful dream.
Thank you so much, Kerfe 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
Awww!! Sanaa. this is pretty. My favorite line will be, “hand regardless of caste and colour .” I like to think that our part of Houston (Texas) is like that. Even though traffic is fast it seems most drivers have time to slow and let a person merge in. Lots of men open doors for the ladies too, I do. Regardless of who …
..
Thank you so much, Jim 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️
I want to go on a tour of your city with you! I’ll bet it’s pure magic through your eyes.
Yayyyy!❤️ Lets go! Thank you so much, Rommy 😀 so glad you liked it!❤️
I like the contrast between the heat of summer and the sweet things, cinnamon bread and kindness to strangers.
Thank you so much, Kerry 😀 so glad you liked it ❤️
The mood of this city sounds gentle and peaceful, full “of hope, not melancholia”. How lovely.
Thank you so much, Sherry 😀 so good to see you ❤️
Yes, mam, would you be my tour guide? Love the sounds, colors, scents, friendliness of the way you see your city.
Yayyyyy!❤️ Ofcourse I will! Lets go! Thank you so much, Susie 😀 so glad you liked it!❤️
Beauty, hope and such charm in this city…love it!
Thank you so much, Vivian 😀 so good to see you ❤️
I love the enchantment you shared~ It sounds so sweet-yes, I want a tour!!
Kindness matters!
A beautiful poem~
Thank you so much, Ella 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️
Yes, I’d love a personal tour! I’ve heard so much about the fabulous food!!!!
Yayyyy!❤️ Lets go! Thank you so much, Rajani 😀 so glad you liked it!❤️
Utterly beautiful, Sanaa. You totally carried me away! 🙂
Thank you so much, Frank 😀 so glad you enjoyed it ❤️