EAST, WEST, NORTH AND SOUTH

Walking to the store,

needed some milk and dates.

I looked to my right, saw a little Indian boy;

looked left and saw a Brit with his mates.

Went to the cashier, a nice Asian woman smiled.

I walked through the street,

passed by a Lankan fruit seller in a sarong,

calling out to whoever his eyes meet.

Took a turn through the park,

saw a little dark haired Bahraini boy play with a little Filipino girl,

their mums chattering away.

Kept walking, came across a depiction of Bahrain's pearl.

Almost home. Pretty couple on the bench,

white girl in a black shawl, handsome dark skinned guy.

Warm wind blew through my white shawl

like it blew past the Arab businessman's tie.

Where was he going? I wondered.

With his pin strip suit and briefcase.

Towards the park, towards the children, gives the little children some candy

as he went by. "Hello", he says.

It was nice being home.

Could smell mummy's pastries,

and the Arabic sweets the neighbors brought.

I'd like one please.

Friends come over,

one in jeans, one in a shalwar kameez, two in black abayas.

We go see a friend, recently married

to an African who sells cars.

If you go to the mall,

you can see them all;

from the east, the west, the south and the north.

They're all there.

FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY

From another country,

when I was five,

I came to Bahrain,

young and alive.

Smiling in anticipation

over the life that awaited me,

unaware of all that will come

my way and all I will be.

Met many people,

from many places,

and was welcomed grandly

by many smiling faces.

Today, many, many years later,

without hesitation I say

of this country and all in it,

as I have grown, so have they.

Progressing and growing 

amazing the vast globe,

while inviting the world through its doors,

this country is not just a symbol of hope.

With a struggle on its shoulders

like the struggles shared by many a country,

Bahrain has risen

all around me.

I now bear witness

to all good things this country has to offer

and know in my heart,

it’s the reluctance of the people to suffer

that has wonderfully bound us all

with the sand that blows through this country,

and the dates that grow in its palms,

it’s all of us, including you and me.