12.12.07

The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.
- F. Scott Fitzgerald

Excerpts from "First writing" by: Suheir Hammad

"One more person ask me if I knew the hijackers.
One more motherfucker ask me what navy my brother is in.
One more person assume no arabs or muslims were killed.
One more person assume they know me,
or that I represent a people.or that a people represent an evil.
or that evil is as simple as a flag and words on a page.
We did not vilify all white men when Mcveigh bombed oklahoma.
America did not give out his family's addresses or where he went to church.
or blame the bible or pat robertson.
and when the networks air footage of palestinians dancing in the street,
there is no apology that hungry children are bribed with sweets that turn their teeth brown. that correspondents edit images.
that archives are there to facilitate lazy and inaccurate journalism.
and when we talk about holy books and hooded men and death,
why do we never mention the kkk?
If there are any people on earth who understand how new york is feeling right now,
they are in the west bank and the gaza strip.
today it is ten days. last night bush waged war on a man once openly funded by the cia.
I do not know who is responsible.
read too many books, know too many people to believe what I am told.
I don't give a fuck about bin laden.
his vision of the world does not include me or those I love.
and petittions have been going around for years trying to get the U.S. sponsored taliban out of power.
shit is complicated, and I don't know what to think.
but I know for sure who will pay.
In the world, it will be women, mostly colored and poor.
Women will have to bury children, and support themselves through grief.
"Either you are with us, or with the terrorists" - meaning keep your people under control and your resistance censored.
meaning we got the loot and the nukes."

Live, Love, Laugh.
-Maira

"My First Day in Middle School" By: Ali I.

In the magic kingdom of, Springfield. For miles and miles there was nothing but highways and mini malls. But in a little suburb with giant mosquitoes and flying spiders there was a boy named Ali. He wasn’t very smart and no way in the world could he run fast.

His average and boring world collapsed at the end of the summer of 2006. When he realized that the all night parties and the 12 o’clock breakfasts had just came to a dead end, and he had not only to go back to school he had to go to middle school.

He wasn’t afraid because he knew at least 30 people from his sixth grade class. The only thing that he was afraid of was that he did not only miss the orientation but he did not know his classes.

The morning bell rang and he tried to find his first classroom of seventh grade history. But he was drowning in a sea of teenagers and bald construction people. When he left home he was so proud that he had grown a couple of inches over the summer break. But in that tsunami of grown babies, nerds, wanna be gangsters and even a few real gangsters he was ashamed. He had thought that the other seventh graders had grown not a couple of inches but in fact a couple of feet. But his mind changed when a mean boy said a small sentence which made Ali happy. That sentence was “hey you stupid sevie what chu doin in the eighth grade hallway.

11.30.07

- bored in class-
I keep wondering why the heck i act so freaking DUMB in front of certain people.. jeesh!! ( thats a mix of jeez and sheesh) lol. ok, well im out, peace.
Live, Love, Laugh.
-Maira

Destination Lost.

Destination Lost… where do I turn?
New roads, new streets… Destination Lost.
A long way to go, an exhausting journey,
I’m standing alone with my Destination Lost.
I hear tick tock, tick tock,
And the time flies over my head,
I watch the bridge fall and my Destination Lost.
Where do I turn? Where do I turn?
In the middle of a desert ground falling apart,
Destination lost… and I stand here alone.
-M.S.I, 04/07

Live, Love, Laugh.
-Maira

My Last Words to You.

Throughout my life I wondered,

What life would be like in misery,

Without you , and mom, and dad.

But I had all I needed and you were my sunshine,

Then I went to Darfur and saw those starving angels,

There eyes filled with pain and lips all curled downwards,

Walking around those streets my heart cringe with hurt,

Seeing my these innocent lives starving to death,

I felt nothing but guilt about living a life of no worries.

How I saw the injuries but never helped them heal,

How I sat there and did nothing, absolutely nothing.

I came back home, with an awful lot on my mind,

My heart still with those eyes that looked up to me in hope,

I started to look for support to go back and lend a hand,

And when turned away by all, I had your strong hands,

You let me know you cared and so will others that feel,

The same pain as mine, yours and theirs.

I want to thank you, for being so accommodating

When I had no one and nothing, nothing and no one, at all.

Now I have not many breaths left,

Not many days left, not many hours left

So here I am with my goodbyes,

My wish is that my message is carried

Remember my death,

Spread the word, and help your people!

– M.S.I , 05/30/07

Live, Love, Laugh.
-Maira

After a While
© Veronica A. Shoffstall 1971

After a while you learn the subtle difference between
holding a hand and chaining a soul.
And you learn that love doesn’t mean leaning,
and company doesn’t always mean security.
And you begin to learn that kisses are not contracts,
and present's aren’t promises.
And you begin to accept your defeats
with your head up and your eyes ahead...
With the grace of a woman,
not the grief of a child.
And you learn
To build all your roads on today,
Because tomorrow's ground is too uncertain for plans,
and futures have a way of falling down in mid-flight.
After a while you learn that even sunshine burns
if you get too much…
So, you plant your own garden,
and decorate your own soul...
Instead of waiting for someone to bring you flowers.
And you learn that you really can endure…
you really are strong,
you really do have worth.
And you learn, and you learn…
with every goodbye,
You Learn…

Live, Love, Laugh.
-Maira