Balanced

Image Source

two sides of the coin
both have strength and weaknesses
whichever side first

© 2013 Balqis

When It Was There

Image Source

Casuarina tree...
where are your songs that lullaby me
at bright noon by the white sandy beach
I long for that beautiful moment
when I slowly fell into a sweet day dream
seeing  heaven on the other side of the horizon
the sparkling turquoise sea seemed calling me
to explore the secrets of that so called heaven
and enjoyed its breath-taking beauty that stunned me
and I fell deeper in my day dream as you kept on lullaby me

Casuarina tree...
for a moment, I thought the wind had taken you away
your sweet voice had gone, perhaps with the wind
as the place became lifeless without your songs
as I sat here, I thought it was once upon a time
like Romeo and Juliet, the sacrifice you both would make
when the white sandy beach and you needed each other 
the love had lost its luster, aging in the ever changing moons and sun
there remained the same beach dotted with freckles of time
I knew not where you were but your lullaby rang sweet in my heart


© 2013 Balqis

Honoured

My friend, Epsita, owner of  a wonderful blog My Still Thoughts In Words , honoured me with this fabulous award. This is the second time my blog receives the same award.  As I always say,  it is a pleasant surprise indeed from friends across the globe.  I am also humbled by the recognition given by them and I do feel surprised. It is something which I do not expect at all when thinking of the simplicity of my posts.

Recalling on how I started this blog, initially, I went through much "pains"  in trying to bring about the birth of a blog.  I was so "immatured" and made so many mistakes here and there. Anyway, I keep on writing for the passion I have in it no matter how badly it started.  

Thank you so much, Epsita, for your kind thought in awarding my blog this meaningful award. It is too big an award for this little blog. Much thanks, too, to those of you who take time to visit and read my posts.  Your visits are the inspirations for me to keep on writing in my little ways.


© 2013 Balqis

Awakening

Image

it was yesterday
among the flowers of May
a new bud appeared

**This post should have been posted on 21.5.2013. Due to unforeseen circumstances,
it is posted today. I am still referring to a day before yesterday.

© 2013 Balqis

What Beauty Is

I am beautiful when I cry,

‘cause crystals fall from my eyes,

To save them is a must try,

Among the vapours in the sky.

balqis

May18'13

Image Source

 © 2013 Balqis

A Sweet Reminiscence

"Excuse me, teacher. May I go out?"

The rest of the school children listened very carefully whether the teacher would give permission or not to their classmate and they were also expecting the teacher to pinpoint the errors in what the little girl uttered. It was a typical school day in the small village where eager school children between the ages of 7 to 12, from standard one to six,  learned many subjects and  English  was taught as a second language. The English teachers were the locals who had undergone training in the teachers' colleges in the country.

Studying English did not come easy for the children who were from diverse backgrounds and to make it more challenging, English was not even spoken at homes. Nevertheless, the children picked up the language slowly. In every English lesson, the teachers used English and spoke English only even if sometimes, the children rolled or blinked their eyes in an effort to grasp the language and to be good in it. Blessed were the teachers' efforts in educating the children with their strategic lesson plans that had made their lessons successful.

In one of the English lessons, her teacher asked her to read some stories in front of the class. She was a great fan of Cinderella, Razpunzel, Red Riding Hood, Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs, Thumbellina, and the list went on. She liked those stories with a happy ending "...and they lived happily ever after", a phrase that sticks to her mind even to this day. As a little girl, she fantasized being the Princess who met Prince Charming and lived happily ever after - such a sweet dream even time could not tell of its happening.

Later, when she reached Standard 6, she began reading Enid Blyton's and Nancy Drew's and felt so inspired to be adventurous and thrilled to become a spy who solved many mysteries.  When studying in high school, she started  reading romance novels which she could read one each day. The passion grew and among all, she could not help but falling so much in love with Sidney Sheldon's superb novels. Age did  make a difference in the choices of the stuffs she liked to read and reading was something which she could not do without. It was like the staple food which at the end of the day really fulfilled her.

She did learn Literature and much more in her tertiary education. She loved it though sometimes her head spun when trying to make out what Shakespeare meant in his classical ways.  Her little nonsensical mind sometimes thought it was Shakespeare who did not understand her! Nevertheless, she held him in high regard for his great contributions in the world of Literature. She recalled the difficulties she faced in accomplishing her assignments that should include the works of Shakespeare or Robert Frost  or any other great writers. Among the ones she loved were Shakespeare's "Sonnet 18: Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer's Day? and Robert Frost's "Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening."

Whose woods these are I think I know.
His house is in the village though;
He will not see me stopping here
To watch his woods fill up with snow

She remembered those lines in the first stanza which would continue to live in her memory.

How nice it was since the first day she set foot in school till her tertiary education and each year showed her progress in academic.  It was possible with the dedications of all those who are called  teachers.

 ---------------------------------

Today, 16 May, is a special day for teachers in my country. It is Teachers' day which is celebrated nation wide. With this opportunity, I am wishing Happy Teachers' Day to all my teachers wherever you are. A special mention here for Madam Cecilia Goh who had given me much encouragements  and instilled the  confidence  in me to speak and write in English, who guided me with patience, who could bear the simple English I wrote in essays, who always boosted my ego by asking me to read in front of the class though there were some mistakes in my pronunciations, who trusted me that I could go further if I had the determination and passion of learning.

Thank you, my dear teachers!

Image Source

©Balqis2013

A Very Special Day

Image Source

 

It's Mother's Day again. The date 12 May is so special for every one of us though on a personal view Mother's Day is everyday for me because the very special woman in my life is always in my heart every minute of the day.

My mom stays strong as ever; physically and mentally. With my late father, she was able to bring up all her children to reach a higher level of education we need to survive in this challenging world. It's quite a contrast to herself who didn't even have the opportunity   to study like us and that makes me so proud of her for her dedication and determination to see us through with successes. My mom doesn't even recognize all the alphabets but she could say a few words of English and recognizes numbers.  What is so special about my mom is she could recite the whole Quran.

Sometimes, I read to her some stories/articles from the books/internet which I translated to my dialect. She would listen very attentively. That's my mom. She's learning through listening.

Today, I’m re-posting the poem I wrote for her last year. I had it posted on 13.5.2012. 

Sunday, May 13, 2012

For My Beloved Mom

Image

Your love is as warm as the morning sun
Beautiful as the million stars in the sky
If there's precious diamond in the world
It can't beat the precious heart that you have
When everyone else turns away from me
You embrace me with words of encouragement
You are my shelter from harsh weathers
You are my umbrella on rainy days
You are my light at night for the right paths
You are the hand that guides me  through
thick and thin, from wrong to right
You are the beautiful woman,  my beautiful mother
Who will always remain beautiful to me for eternity
For every beautiful thing you do makes my life beautiful


Happy Mother's Day to my beloved mom and to all moms of the world!

I love you, Mom!

balqis
May13'12

~~~~~~~~~~~000O000O000O000O000O000O000~~~~~~~~~~~

Mother's  Love Is Unconditional

Image Source

Image Source

Image Source

 \

 Google Image

Image Source

Whispers

 

 

 

 

 

The eyes in autumn,

Witness leaves falling gently,

Whispering secrets.

 

balqis

May11'13

 

 Image

** No, we don't have autumn here. This is just my imagination and it is for my first post in the month of May!

It had been quite a hiatus for me from blogging when ideas all seemed to freeze. Apart from that, I had been super busy! This is just to let you guys know.

Thank you to everyone who keeps visiting my blog. I know your presence here and I appreciate it.