‘Aywa’; Oh Yes: Iowa
On the Green Silky Carpet,
Bride of all brides,
Walk slowly and Proudly,
On the Green Carpet,
In a low voice,
I heard myself singing,
With trembling lips,
I was singing calmly,
After a year of continuous crying,
But I am no body's bride,
And I intend not to be so;
My bridegroom was pushed to go;
To leave this life a year ago,
To leave me dreaming
To continue the journey;
The road
All alone,
Just a week before our union
Could have taken place,
And I exclaimed:
‘How weird this life is’! !
When the right man appeared,
He was forced to disappear,
Why? I really do not know! ! !
Finally, I learned how to keep
My expectations low,
Yet, I was chosen out of all
Visitors of the American Conciliate,
No body from those
Who licked the floor;
No one from those who compete;
For the Americans' love,
Was selected,
Yet I who said no
To their policy,
Was asked to go;
To be a member of Iowa's
Program for writing,
What? !
The total death of DEMOCRACY
Is not yet complete? !
Has its brain died,
But the heart
Is not yet! !
It still beats,
Who knows?
I replied with a big 'NO',
I could not travel
All of this distance alone,
I asked myself what for? !
They insisted…I yielded,
Arabic modesty, decency,
I felt shy for
They solved every problem
Every obstacle
That could make me
Hesitant to accept their offer;
To make me see Iowa;
To mingle with people there,
I consulted Fatma,
My former Egyptian instructor
And friend,
Whom I could keep
For many years,
Her words for me
Are far more precious
Than gold,
She studied in Iowa,
Her Ph. D was about Defoe
And Moll Flanders,
She once told me
‘People in Iowa
Are true liberal, ’
Though we differ
Every now and then,
This never touched
The essence of our two free spirits,
Nor our friendship,
She advised me to go,
Not to hesitate and to accept
The generous invitation;
Not to loose a chance
As such,
I said to myself:
‘Nothing to loose anymore’.
A quarter of a century ago,
I wanted to study
For my M. A in Iowa,
But was accepted in Denver;
Life's ways with Nadia,
I chose a British supervisor
Who worked in Jeddah
Instead,
Much later I became a distant learner;
I chose Exeter,
As a temporary exit
Form the invisible cage
Of femininity in a man’s world,
My Ph. D thesis:
I s on Faith & liberty
And my models are
Arabic and British poetesses;
It is an important topic
To women as well as men,
In today’s confused world,
Now I’ m invited to talk
About women’s freedom,
And position in Islam;
By a woman priest in a Church!
She is doing what I did and said
In my poem: “ The Spiritual Link”;
Most people care for humanity,
But in politics…well
No comment.
Here I am hearing
Myself singing,
But still my voice is low,
Amazed from myself,
As the case always is,
I looked from the tiny window
Of the tiny airplane,
And I saw the natural GREEN CARPET
Down there with yellowish ending
Just like that of a velvet skirt,
Before, I was so sure
That America is not my 'cup of tea',
But now I am not that sure,
I have always liked the countryside;
To live in a place so green and wide,
And here I am in the midst
Of green hills,
I asked myself: what am I supposed to do?
Trying to investigate,
To dive into this mind;
Into this heart
Of mine,
I began to think; to ask
What made me sing in the first place,
And why was it this song
In particular? !
Who is my new BRIDEGROOM,
Certainly not a human being,
To find a true mate is rare,
Life can not give me again
Another man who can
Share my spirituality...
My intellectuality,
In Vain,
Is it self fulfillment?
Well, I am done with that too,
Is it publishing my new book;
It is for and about him,
Well even this is not supposed
To make me sing,
I am far beyond happiness
Or sadness for simple things,
While I was still singing,
The airplane landed
In Cedar Rapids,
‘Aywa’; Oh Yes I like Iowa,
Yet my questions are still lingering
In the air.
(27 August(the beginning of the poem in airplane) -30 Sept.2005(The final touch on the poem) -The River Room Iowa House Hotel.)
poem by Nadia Abduljabbar
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Let us tackle the big issues with bold ideas that transform Iowa to accomplish our shared mission to grow Iowa, and realize our shared vision of Iowa as the best place to live, work and raise a family.
quote by Thomas Vilsack
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Back home in iowa
oh, Iowa your green rolling hills,
to be back here, brings my heart thrills,
my child hood was spent here
many memories have I, that are very dear.
The capitol city has changed so much,
many years away from you, that I lost touch
to see the tall green corn
and back here where I was born.
Some things do stay the same,
like the hot humid weather, you can't be blamed
progress does come every where
as I look around and do stare
Iowa, you have come a long way,
and to see all the changes, makes me sway
you're still beautiful, as when I left
but the changes, my heart does cleft.
As the 29th state to join the United States of America, it is our turn to show the nation what represents Iowa. Our commitment to quality education, hard work, and small-town values are all represented in the Iowa quarter.
quote by Leonard Boswell
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Each state in the Union is honored in the order of when it ratified the Constitution and became a part of the United States. This September it is Iowa's turn. Iowa became the 29th state to be admitted to the union on December 28, 1846.
quote by Leonard Boswell
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Let This One Poem Be About Me
Let this one poem be just about me
Let this one poem engulf all my beauty
Let this one poem define my soul
Let this one poem consume me whole
My soul was earth bound
And my heart lay in a place that it would never be found
Let this poem be what entangles my mind
Let this poem be where people will find
They will find that missing link
And this poem it will make them think
They will wonder how this girl came
They will wonder how I avoided fame
I didn’t write these words to please
I wrote these words to tease
My heart it’s the type that beckons for ease
And my taste will not accept the flavor of peas
Let this poem describe me in most simplest of ways
Let this poem show how I get through these days
And I know people will read this and say…
This girl she knew where heart lay…
Let this poem eat me whole
Let me entire heart bleed its luscious love into a broken bowl
My soul wanted only to be free
And this poem only pushed it back into me
I never will lose any part of my soul
Because then this world will swallow my inner being whole
Let this poem be what I hate
Let this poem describe with who I would mate
Let this thoughts become my ways
Let this poem be where I stray
Let this poem show how I lie
Let this poem describe how I will die
Yes I am human I cannot avoid death
Yes I am human I chose not to use meth
These words they dance upon this page
These words they have no age
These verses have lost all meaning
Because I revealed my demeaning
Let this poem describe what I deem right
Let this poem that I will always fight
My age floats through these words
And people will never understand why I want to be heard
Let this poem be only about me
Let this poem be what sets me free
And I know some day people will look at this and say…
This girl, this girl she knew exactly where her heart lay…
poem by Victoria Martinez
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My attitude for 'Thanksgiving' and Gratitude
The The Imaginative Intelligent Handsome Man
Kisses on the head,
On the forehead,
On the checks,
On the rosy lips
On the eye led,
On the neck,
On the musical ears,
On the fingertips,
On the generous heart,
And the broad chest,
Call it Love, call it lust,
Call it tenderness,
It is a fusion of all of this;
It is an Arabic woman way;
My very passionate way,
To tell you how grateful
I feel for your brilliant deeds:
Thanks for your laughter
From my spontaneous jokes,
Thanks for your knee touch,
Thanks for your dreamy gaze
It encouraged me to dream
As well,
Thanks for bringing
Smile back to my lips,
Thanks for your broken
Appointment, it made
Soft tears linger on
My eye lashes and led,
Thanks for bringing
Back to life
My adventurous personality,
Thanks for awakening
My desire for love…for life,
Thanks for blushing
From my comments
On the colour of your eyes,
Thanks for telling me
"You are blushing as well",
It brought back to me
Awareness of my femininity,
Americans' symbols for
Gratitude and Thanksgiving
Are ‘ Turkeys'
Mine are soft kisses,
They are a kind of sweet,
Not that nourishing,
Except for an elevated self,
If you compare,
Which will you prefer?
Which do you really desire? !
9 Nov.2005
Iowa City.
poem by Nadia Abduljabbar
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Hollywood is a place where people from Iowa mistake each other for stars.
quote by Fred Allen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Hollywood is a place where people from Iowa mistake each other for movie stars.
quote by Fred Allen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Dear Deborah,
They tell me that your heart
has been found in Iowa,
pumping along Interstate 35.
Do you want it back?
When the cold comes on
this fast, it's Iowa again--
where pollen disperses
evenly on the dented Fords,
where white houses sag
by the town's corn silos,
where people in the houses
sicken on corn dust.
Auctions sell entire farms.
It's not the auctions that's upsetting
but what they sell, the ragged towel
or the armless doll, for a dollar.
I hear they've found
an eye of yours in Osceola
calling out to your mouth in Davis City.
That mouth of yours is in the bar,
the only place left in town,
slow dancing and smoking.
It's no wonder you look so pale.
Ever wish you'd done more
with your thirty years?
Seeing you last week I wonder
if you crave that sky
filled with the milky way
or the sight of Amish girls in blue
at sunset against wheat-colored prairie grass.
Here, the trees are full of gossip.
They're waiting to see what you'll do next.
poem by Deborah Ager
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A Song For You
(leon russell)
Ive been so many places
In my life and time
Ive sung a lot of songs
I made some bad rhymes
Ive acted out my life in stages
Ten thousand people watching
But were alone now
Im singing this song for you
I know your image of me
Is what I hope to be
I treated you unkindly
But darling cant you see?
Theres no-one more important to me
Oh, baby, cant you please see through me?
cause were alone now and
Im singing this song for you
You taught me precious secrets
Of the truth withholding nothing
You came out in front
I was hiding
Oh, but now Im so much better
If the words dont come together
Just listen to the melody
cause my love in there hiding
Ooh, ooh
Oh, I love you in a place
Where theres no space or time
Love you for my life
You are a friend of mine
And when my life is over
Remember when we were together
We were alone and
I was singing this song for you
We were alone
I was singing this song for you, oh
Singing
I was singing, singing, singing, singing, singing this song for you
Oh, yes
Singing this song for you
song performed by by Dusty Springfield
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Missouri 2007
It was the year 2007,
that was the year Jean went to heaven.
I went to see the place she was raised,
she had an interesting life I do say.
She designed Hallmark’s house,
Her dad was friends with Walt Disney
who created Mickey Mouse.
She loved children,
for she designed a playground set,
She was very talented and the best.
A storyteller and a poet talented at age 8,
She edited her mom’s poems made them great.
Ted Nugent is her famous cousin,
I saw him perform at Iowa Jam,
He kept people buzzing.
Now I wear Jean’s ring,
she wanted to give me everything,
but that’s o.k. memories of her are the best thing.
Written by Suzae Chevalier on August 12,2011
www.christinasunrise.com www.puppitlady.com
www.suzaechevalier.com
poem by Christina Sunrise
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Love And A Question
A stranger came to the door at eve,
And he spoke the bridegroom fair.
He bore a green-white stick in his hand,
And, for all burden, care.
He asked with the eyes more than the lips
For a shelter for the night,
And he turned and looked at the road afar
Without a window light.
The bridegroom came forth into the porch
With, 'Let us look at the sky,
And question what of the night to be,
Stranger, you and I.'
The woodbine leaves littered the yard,
The woodbine berries were blue,
Autumn, yes, winter was in the wind;
'Stranger, I wish I knew.'
Within, the bride in the dusk alone
Bent over the open fire,
Her face rose-red with the glowing coal
And the thought of the heart's desire.
The bridegroom looked at the weary road,
Yet saw but her within,
And wished her heart in a case of gold
And pinned with a silver pin.
The bridegroom thought it little to give
A dole of bread, a purse,
A heartfelt prayer for the poor of God,
Or for the rich a curse;
But whether or not a man was asked
To mar the love of two
By harboring woe in the bridal house,
The bridegroom wished he knew.
poem by Robert Frost
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A Song For You
Ive been so many places in my life and time
Ive sung a lot of songs and Ive made some bad climbs
Ive acted out my life in stages with ten thousand people watching
Oh, but were alone now and Im singing this song for you
I know your image of me is what I hope to be, Ive treated you unkindly
Oh, but darling cant you see that, theres no one more important to me
Baby, baby, cant you see through me, cause were alone now
And Im singing this song to you, you taught me precious secrets
Of a true love withholding nothing, you came out in front
When I was hiding, yeah, yeah, but now its so much better
If my words dont quite come together, please listen to the melody
cause my love is in there somewhere hiding
I love you in a place where there is no space or time, I love you for my life
You are a friend of mine, and when my life is over
Remember, remember, remember when we were together
And we are alone now, and I was singing this song to you
We were alone, and I was singing, yeah singing
We were alone, and I was singing this song for you
Singing my song, Im singing my song for you
Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo, doo
song performed by by Natalie Cole
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sing Your Life
Sing your life
Any fool can think of words that rhyme
Many others do
Why dont you ?
Do you want to ?
Oh...
Sing your life
Walk right up to the microphone
And name
All the things you love
All the things that you loathe
Oh, sing your life
The things that you love
And the things you loathe
Oh, sing your life
Oh, sing your life
La, la-la, la-la, sing your life
La, la-la, la-la, sing your life
Others sang your life
But now is a chance to shine
And have the pleasure of
Saying what you mean
Have the pleasure of
Meaning what you sing
Oh, make no mistake my friend
All of this will end
So sing it now (sing your life)
All the things you love (sing your life)
All the things you loathe
Oh, sing your life
The things that you love
And the things you loathe (sing your life)
Oh, sing oh...
Oh, sing oh...
La, la-la, la-la, sing your life
La, la-la, la-la, sing your life
Dont leave it all unsaid
Somewhere in the wasteland of your head, oh
Head, oh, head, oh, head, oh
And make no mistake, my friend
Your pointless life will end
But before you go
Can you look at the truth ?
You have a lovely singing voice
A lovely singing voice
And all of those
Who sing on-key
They stole the notion
From you and me
So, sing your life (sing your life)
Sing your life (sing your life)
Oh, sing your oh...
Oh, sing your
Sing your life
Sing your life
Sing your life
Oh, sing your oh...
(sing your life)
(sing your life)
Sing your life
(sing your life)
song performed by by Morrissey
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Song For The Journey
A SONG FOR THE JOURNEY
Sometimes you may sing in your heart
or have song running through your head
but there’s always singing’s in your soul
and it’s on this song’s journey you’ll be led.
Towards a distant point, as yet unclear
your singing soul will lead you on
to find that place of understanding
with all your preconceptions gone.
Yet we sometimes meet more questions
Hard, hash decisions we must make
So the Soul song leads you onwards
along the pathway you must take.
The road can be both rough and smooth
its horizon hidden from your view
But the power within the singing
gives you strength to see it through.
With every step upon the road
the soul song keeps its tune and beat
and from its verses courage comes
to face the challenges you meet.
For some the song is understood
they come to recognise the voice
and in the facets of their lives
they use the song to make their choice
Some feel of the sound of singing
but don’t care, or know, where from
The song it doesn’t differentiate
into each soul it still sings on.
If we can listen to the message
and the true meaning in the song
Our footfall becomes much gentler
down the paths we walk along.
It’s the soundtrack of the life we lead
of the choices in life we make
The pragmatic or compassionate
a search for beauty, greed, or hate
Somewhere wthin the soul song
are great sacrifice and pain
and a promise ever present
of eternal peace and life again.
In the silence and the stillness
between all the bustle and the strife
listen carefully and you’ll recognise
the first and last love song of your life.
poem by Bill Mitton
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Song For You
Ive been so many places in my life and time
Sung a lot of songs Ive made some bad rhyme
I got out my life in stages
With ten thousand people watching
But were alone now Im singing this song
Singing this song for you
I know your image of me is what I hope to be
Ive treated you unkindly but darling cant you see
Theres no one more important to me
Darling can you please see through me
Cause were alone now
And Im singing this song for you
You taught me precious secrets of the truth
Were only nothing
You came out in front when I was hiding
But now Im so much better
And if my words can come together
Listen to the melody
Cause my love is in there hiding
I love you in a place where theres no space or time
I love you for my life you are a friend of mine
And when my life is over
Remember when we were together
We were alone and I was singing this song for you
Singing this song, singing this song for you
song performed by by Cher
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Our family was very fond of the University of Iowa. We thought it was a good place to go.
quote by James Van Allen
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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From Paumanok Starting
FROM Paumanock starting, I fly like a bird,
Around and around to soar, to sing the idea of all;
To the north betaking myself, to sing there arctic songs,
To Kanada, till I absorb Kanada in myself--to Michigan then,
To Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, to sing their songs, (they are
inimitable;)
Then to Ohio and Indiana to sing theirs--to Missouri and Kansas and
Arkansas, to sing theirs,
To Tennessee and Kentucky--to the Carolinas and Georgia, to sing
theirs,
To Texas, and so along up toward California, to roam accepted
everywhere;
To sing first, (to the tap of the war-drum, if need be,)
The idea of all--of the western world, one and inseparable. 10
And then the song of each member of These States.
poem by Walt Whitman
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Reflection Of A Shiny Object (*)
Make as much money as I can…
That's my ideology.
Let the blood drip through
These dead fingers…
My money is as dirty
As my mind…
I don't care about love
Much less making it…
I don't know how to love myself…
Much less how to love someone else.
I live for the green…
I'm so lost…
This is all I got…
How can anyone love this?
How can anyone love what I've become?
I underestimate myself…
But no!
I can do so much with money…
I can travel around…
The people around me,
Will envy me…
And not actually travel with me…
But I'll make them envy me…
You don't understand!
I have nothing left!
Best things in life are free…?
Ha! No such thing!
The good has a high price tag on it…
You buy it…
And then…
And then it becomes yours…
All mine!
Yeah, all mine.
Mine…
Mine…
Am I sounding like a two year old?
No…
I need to get my share!
You never know what can happen…
There's nothing else inside…
Empty…
Why?
Why do I feel so empty?
So angry?
They just would never get me...
Never…
They seem like good people though…
Oh, but they probably didn't have it as bad as me…
I have a reason to be this way!
They don't know what it's like to be me!
Because they're not me!
We have nothing in common!
Nothing!
Well…
We look pretty similar…
Have the same emotions…
But no!
We're very different!
Different stories!
If only I could have all the money in the world…
I would make people bow in front of me…
Kiss my feet…
Since there's no god…
I can play god…
They'll fall for it…
They always do…
Ha! I'm so clever!
I can barely contain myself!
…
You know…I just don't give a f***!
I don't give a f*** about children!
I don't give a f*** about women!
I don't give a f*** about f***ing trees!
Trees…chop them up and make me some money!
Ha! I'm so clever!
I hate those savages…
Those hippy a**holes…
They don't know how good it is to have power…
That's why they don't want it…
Yeah…that's exactly why they don't want it…
They just like listening to rock and roll…
Touching each other's hair with those dirty hands…
They're so stupid…
Seriously…I don't know how they can live with themselves…
You know? For being so stupid…
And dirty...
With their dancing…
And singing…
What the f***, right?
Grow the f*** up!
Get a nice car, nice house…
Travel all over the world…
Never look like a loser…
Never!
So embarrassing to be poor…
Damn…I'd rather die before being poor…
But how do they look so happy without money?
They're just stupid…
Yeah…that's why…
They don't get it…
Just don't get it…
Their nature, spiritual talk…
So boring!
They do create some crazy sh*t though…
But no…they're so stupid…
I don't even get that crazy stupid art…
Idiots…
They're idiots…
Yeah…
Hum…
Yeah…
And f***ing women…
I make them my wh*res…
Yeah…women are such wh*res…
Dumb little wh*res…
Yeah…
Yeah…
Ah…whatever…
What the f*** am I doing talking to a f***ing mirror?
poem by Erica Borges
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It is true that I was born in Iowa, but I can't speak for my twin sister.
quote by Abigail Van Buren
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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