Trellis

A trellis of naked branches,

Web the milky, grey, snow-covered ceiling

So maybe my boots had a mini puddle inside
 & my socks were soaked,

But freshly-fallen snow-capped roofs

Leave me with excitement, everytime

& the cold left my lungs minty breathless.

Faith

When treated precariously-
Dependent on circumstances,
Conjured upon during conveniences
Faith becomes ever so fragile, like a bubble
The constant threat becomes solely a fear failure,
& maybe of losing faith.

When sown like a seed,
Implanted into every action
Like a passion, almost-
Faith becomes ingrained,
It is simply is the the impenetrable immaterial by its own form
Failures are accepted as challenges, as longer routes to successes
Arrogance becomes the bigger threat.

Support and Send Me to Guatemala!

Hi everyone,

This coming February, I will be joining 80 students from Carleton University to partake in an opportunity called Alternative Spring Break (ASB). ASB is a service-learning program offered by the Carleton University’s Student Experience Office.  As part of this program, I am expected to fundraise as a means to offset the travel and program costs and I am seeking your support in achieving my fundraising goals


While we are privileged with a decent educational system here, I will be helping to repair the infrastructure of the school there during my reading week. The goal of this trip is to engage is Community Service Learning, where I will be participating in volunteering activities at Aldea el Novillero, in Guatenala, to assist with indigenous Maya Quiche community. While the focus is on the local community, we are encouraged to embrace a more interconnected approach and consider similar issues in our home communities. 


I will be documenting my trip into a video, sharing my reflections and blogging my experience here. At this time I am seeking your support. I am responsible for the costs associated with the trip including airfare, accommodations, and food. If you are able to contribute to these activities, donations of any kind would be greatly appreciated. By providing me the opportunity to participate in ASB, you are helping me to create positive change through community service across Canada and around the world.

Thank you!

Sincerely,
Shafiqah Muhamad Nor

P.S. Click below to contribute

Starlit

My greyhound bus ride to Ottawa was accompanied by a beautiful starlit-sky. The brightest one, I believe, was a part of the Ursa Major constellation I've learned to recognize when I was 12.

There came a time I used to believe I was greater than each speck that scattered the sky. Yet, last night, I felt the tiniest among the smallest glitter in sight...It's silly how perspectives change.

Remembrance

Far as the eye is able to see,
Deep, and depth into the darkness the heart can sense
& only a fleck of dust that spills-
Into a poetry of praise

& here stand I, staring at your infinite sea
& wonders the self, by the ceiling of your sky,
For even millions of words expressed, seem unworthy
Of sketching your grandeur and perfect lines

For when I see the stars, how distant you seem to me
& when I see the blue, how close you fathom within me
Admire greens and mountains,
I wonder, who tends to them
Who hears, the whimper of the grieving?
& feels the burns of dreaded days
To whom does this heart yearn for,
When the eyes weep and things fail.

The world is willed to silence,
Into pride for a while
Is there a place of return?
What greater could exist,
None other be but you.

For when I see the stars, how distant you seem to me
& when I see the blue, how close you fathom within me
Admiring forests and mountains,
I wonder, who tends to them
Who hears, the whimper of the grieving?
& feels the burns of dreaded days
To whom does this heart yearn for,
When the eyes weep and things fail.


N.B. I was moved when I first heard the song. I think my translation doesn't do justice to the real meaning, but this is my attempt at poetically translating a beautifully written Indonesian song (Tafakkur-by Opick). 

Snowflakes

No two snowflakes are the alike.
Maybe humans are just too lazy to compare between snowflakes, and it is easier to assume that each are different.  If snowflakes are like fingerprints, I wonder if there are more snowflakes than the number of human beings in history of mankind...

Of time and distance

That which will withstand time and distance, I think can prevail.

If there is anything that I have learnt about friendship, it is realizing what it is able to overcome. Two of my best friends are (and will be more) further than I am physically. But I continue to be amazed by how easy it is to pick up conversations from where we last left off. The mutuality and naturalness seems effortless. It is as if neither has ever left the presence of the other. =]