Art and words: Rawan Al-Janaby
Tell me… Why does the ink stain the soul? And why is the echo etched on the wall? While the petals wither The language of flowers erodes hither O’ tell me how! The mind’s eye flashes In rage it crashes Willing to spew forth flames Yet only uttering ashes Teach me now! How these inked threads speak Honey laced venom Words these eyes cannot perceive as bleak For when has my sight become so meek? But answer me so… Were you not the one who paved the opposing road? Morals and silken words you supposedly bestowed So tell me, oh tell me so… Why did you trample this so called kindness you sowed? Leading them down the thorn wretched road Why do their words reek of hypocrisy? Layered behind masks drenched in mediocrity The mask creaks; its hollowed words released Crooked laughter bellows and so, The wall is etched by an echo---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *Material should not be published in another periodical before at least one year has elapsed since publication in Whispering Dialogue. *أن لا يكون النص قد تم نشره في أي صحيفة أو موقع أليكتروني على الأقل (لمدة سنة) من تاريخ النشر. *All content © 2021 Whispering Dialogue or respective authors and publishers, and may not be used elsewhere without written permission. جميع الحقوق محفوظة للناشر الرسمي لدورية (هَمْس الحِوار) Whispering Dialogue ولا يجوز إعادة النشر في أيّة دورية أخرى دون أخذ الإذن من الناشر مع الشكر الجزيل
Reading Rawan’s “words,” as she calls them, I could not help thinking of the ways many of us, human beings, use and abuse language as a means for verbal communication. It is easy for us to take language for granted—as a given—and use it with a sense of entitlement. Little do we notice the negative effects of “words” delivered recklessly on those receiving them, whether we are communicating orally or in writing. The latter, the writing of words, consecrates them, and when they are delivered with entitlement, they “stain the soul,” leaving permanent damage. It is that kind of damage that Rawan’s “words” sound the alarm about; she does that thoughtfully and intelligently.