Tea Invitation... a poem by Ibtisam Barakat

Ibtisam Barakat ابتسام بركات " Spring has arrived -- A lover, at the door, holding in his hands endless flowers." -- Ibtisam Barakat 2010.http://www.universeofpoetry.org/palestine.shtml

Ibtisam Barakat grew up in Ramallah and now lives in the United States. Her work centers on healing the hurts of racism, sexism and the oppression of young people. She taught Writing Ethics at Stephens College and is the founder of Write Your Life seminars.

Her short stories include “Piano Obsession,” published in What A Song Can Do, Edited by Jennifer Armstrong, A. Knopf/Random House, 2004, and “Sheriffs and Indians of the East,” published in Gilcrease Journal, 2004. Her poetry includes “The Home Within,” featured in The Flag of Childhood, Edited by Naomi Shihab Nye, and published by Aladdin/Simon and Schuster, 2002, and “Alphabets of My Life,” published in www.meenamag.org, 2006.

Ibtisam's memoir about growing up in Ramallah, “Tasting The Sky: A Palestinian Childhood,”

Tea Invitation	Arabic | English | Audio

Arabic version

English version

Tea Invitation

I write
for my heart
has become
a country
and I want
all people
to live in it.

I make space
by emptying
all corners
of fear.

I make peace
by making
a cup of tea
for my story
and yours.

A cup of tea
for our estranged
histories
that come from
one family
but to one another
do not speak.

Hot tea and mint.
I have meant
to invite you over
to my heart.

Do you like your tea
with sugar?


Audio version

Tea Invitation

Click on the title of the poem below to listen.

Tea Invitation - Arabic version.
Tea Invitation - English version.

Audio production assistance: Trina Brunk - www.trinasdesign.com

*******************************

Annie's New Letters Celebrating some GREAT Palestinian-American Artists, Writers & Poets March Forth! The Index