Wael Abdelgawad's Blog, page 2

Blessed Ramadan! Ramadan message 2019

Ramadan mubarak everyone! Blessed Ramadan. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said that during this month the gates of Paradise are opened, the gates of Hell are closed, and the devils are chained. What a tremendous opportunity! What a wonderful time to pray not only for personal forgiveness and redemption, but for freedom from oppression and evil for all people.

Our Ummah is groaning under the burden of terrible suffering. In China, Burma, Palestine, Syria, the Central African Republi...

Train Trip to Superior Dairy

Wael and daughter at Superior Dairy, Hanford California.

Salma and I took the Amtrak down to Hanford on a Sunday afternoon. The sun was going down, and as we sat on the upper deck of the train we looked out over almond orchards, grape vines, farm silos, and birds wheeling against an orange sky.

Thirty minutes later we were in downtown Hanford. It’s nearly deserted after dark, but as we neared the central town square we encountered the last stragglers of a large wedding on the courthouse steps...

Walking the Path Alone

Sometimes I feel like I’ve been walking along a path at the bottom of a ravine, between two high cliffs. I keep waiting for a pass that will take me back up into the sunlight, but it doesn’t come. I wait to hear my name called, to hear someone say, “Wael, here I am. Here’s a way for you to walk. Here is someone to share your burden.” But the call does not come. I’m patient and I’m strong, but the path is dimly lit, and I’ve been walking it alone all my life, and I’m tired.

Poem: Changing Light

I thought the sun rose in your chest
and set in your sigh
but the road climbs high
and drops low, turning a bend,
running rough then fine,
and I can’t see you in my mirror anymore.
There’s a forest on my left
and a drop on my right
and I must keep my eyes
on the changing light,
the rise and and fall,
the next place
to stop and rest
my heavy head.

Poem: Homemade Love

All I have is a homemade love.
It’s not designed in Paris
or manufactured in Shanghai.
It’s not shaped and shined.
It doesn’t toe the line
or roll on command.

My love holds your hand
when the world is hard and cold
and there’s no one to be found.
It takes the hits
and grants the wish
harbored in the shy heart.
Its crown is lost, lying in an uncharted wood,
caked in frost.

My love was forged in tiny rooms
and on the broken pavements
of unsafe streets.
It’s been beaten and tonged
struck like a gong
survived on...

What is Life Without Love?

By Wael Abdelgawad | WaelAbdelgawad.com

What is life without love? Work and duty, and that’s meaningful. Having fun, which passes time but is hollow. Prayer and faith – those are important and settle the spirit. But where’s the spark? Where’s the fierce movement, the ground shifting beneath your feet, the wind that picks up and you don’t know whether it brings thunder or relief. The way every raindrop gains significance because it is shared. The witnessing of the plain and extraordinary deta...

Poem: Nova

We’re on a ship
in the heart of the galaxy
stars bright as white sand
just the two of us
embracing in the air,
floating at the speed of light,
not trying to understand,
not trying to know.
I feel your hand
on the small of my back.
Your body is as hot as a young star,
your breath like a nova,
your tongue speaking mysteries
impossible to solve.
Take it out and revolve,
then bring it in and dissolve.
We’re spinning, turning like everything does,
drifting on the wing of a dove.
Our love is hot now,
glowing then ch...

Poem: Laying the Trail of Night

There’s a softness to your eyes
that enchants, like morning light
gold-dusting through the blinds
when you’re half awake
and haven’t remembered your life
and all is beauty and hope.

There’s a bite to your smile.
You’ve taken strokes from destiny’s whip
and you’re only half ready to trust.
But your laugh is sincere,
the sound of someone blessed,
someone so filled with faith
she can’t help but forgive.

You said you keep a keyboard beside your bed
and play it before sleeping.
I see that in my head,
you unlac...

Poem: Everything New

Everything New

May the world be new again
in the embers of your eyes.
May it be bright
in a sea of rain,
a wind with no name.
May it be clean
in the swell of your lips,
the light of your breath.
May it be hot as your heart,
bursting the levee,
flooding out old aches,
washing away fears.
May the world be new
in your laughter, your tears,
the wave of your hand.
New fire and sand,
rivers and streets,
muscles and skin,
calf and shin, new sheets,
new way in,
new meadow in the sun,
new courage to dare,
new life, new lo...

Poem: SOS

I need no vow,
no why or how
nothing lavish or grand:
only your hand.

When the bruises take long to fade
and the bills haven’t been paid
and your almond milk skin
becomes a record

of a life you made
and can’t forget
I’ll be your net.
Fall like a tightrope walker

from the wire.
Fall into desire.
Let’s drive
on Interstate Five

and study the sky.
Let’s find the dippers,
pouring the syrupy night,
and the dog, always running behind.

There’s an SOS
written in the earth.
I don’t know if it’s mine or yours
but I can...