Relinquished 

she floated up into the 
liquid nitrogen of the 
sky 

where Greek gods and 
poltergeists 
danced around the totem 
moon 

Amyr Gardine 

and slowly released a sigh like the 
creek of a weary church 

while her body 

floated in unison with the smoke 
from her nostrils for just 
one moment then fell 
down to the horizon 

where the birch and owl were 
kissing awake the cerise sun 

that lit 
the stone path 
beneath her feet 

where the moss crouched in anticipation of her mind 

ra 

Ahlam 

Life is a stage .. 
I am the actress of its pl 

Being the eighth child of a S< 
kids played with. My mom used to h2 
second living room in the house that b 
market full of candies, chips, drinks ar 
in the upper left comer. We called this 
cious stuff that it had. My mom used 
her neck. Each day before school, ever 
pick up only three things. I still remen 
smell of the Batook, the banana-flav01 
one by one, my mom counted the thin1 
go visit the neighbors. When she woulc 
ers would bring the ladder and put it 01 

I was a slim seven-year-old gir 
no fear. My sister Hind gave a long e: 
and urged me to jump into the frosty f 
strongest sister, the queen of courage, 
the controller of the situation my sib lit 
the rare precious green ruby. I got so 
nine-year-old sibling Humod was spec 
attempts of stealing candies in the past' 
cheered for the soldier in her battle eve 

The frosty glass room had a sm 
a very long distance between the grom 
What happened was that I always clime 
step I would look down and see my fo· 
like the bags of the candies in the treasl 
I was trying to go down the crowd chet 
I got excited and crossed the ladder an< 
there, everyone asked for something wl 
throwing the bags through the opening 
candy boxes, raised my small body and . 
with my fingers which got red from the 
take a bunch of dollars with my toes an<