Tasting the Sky Quotes

“To Alef, the letter
that begins the alphabets
of both Arabic and Hebrew-
two Semitic languages,
sisters for centuries.

May we find the language
that takes us
to the only home there is -
one another's hearts.

...

Alef knows
That a thread
Of a story
Stitches together
A wound.”
― Ibtisam Barakat, Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood

“I am midway from forgetting to remembering. I do not know how long it will take before I return to all of myself. Yes, an echo still warns: “Learn to forget.” But I am past this checkpoint—I will never regret that I chose to remember.”
― Ibtisam Barakat, Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood

“We had left nothing behind, but I still could see in my mind all of our things in their places.”
― Ibtisam Barakat, Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood

“He asks again. I stay silent. I don’t think a high school girl like me is visible enough, exists enough for a soldier with a rifle, a pistol, a club, a helmet, and high boots to notice.”
― Ibtisam Barakat, Tasting the Sky: A Palestinian Childhood