Hats off

Chapeau to you and your tattoo...
Chapeau to challenging all social taboos...
To talking about cancer and radiation burns...
To your father with the brown and white shoes...
To the youth of our parents that we do not dwell on...
To their dreams and aspirations that we never consider...
To tears that children rarely see...
Chapeau to four relocations...to tenacity of holding on against a fifth...
To your girl who missed your youth...who will consume you for hers...
To Mai, a friend for life, short or long...
Chapeau to women crying behind closed doors...
To seven children on one side and one on the other...
To resilience,for wars change us, shake us, to a degree shape us...
Yet they do not break us...
To blue houses...jasmine...sycamore ...and to arches...
To balconies that look onto the courtyards of the hearts...
From our balconies we wave to you...Your Balconies are bright and sad and fun and hard and soft and overflowing with true transparent sentiments...
Chapeau, chapeau, chapeau...
                                                                 Akram Talhouk