Nearly two years ago, I launched this blog as a place to share the English language versions of my weekly column, “Letters from America,” published by Al-Modon newspaper in Beirut. Lebanon’s financial distress finally reached me here in Washington, DC in early May, when I was laid off from my gig as a columnist. To be honest, it was increasingly grueling to write a weekly column about the nightmarish dysfunction of these United States in the era of Trump. And now, in the time of the Coronavirus, diving deep into American politics can take a toll on one’s mental health. So, why not use this blog for other types of writing—poetry, recipes, reflections, humor, and of course the occasional political rant? Without further ado, I give you lockdown haikus, illustrated with photos from my Instagram account:
How many days now?
Circling blackbirds sing
Our garden keeps time
Days like gentle waves
Carry us farther from shore
Vague horizons loom
Shifting light on walls
My bedroom now my office
Solar clock precise
Clean air smells so good
Trucks and airplanes gone for good?
This isn’t so bad
Spices share secrets
Steamy kitchen windows glow
Bread dough rising fast
My dead come in dreams
Acting like nothing has changed
Shades in the sunlight
Tolls growing on charts
Graveside tears never to fall
Sorrows unnumbered
People without masks
Closed doors no longer trap us
Clicking locks bring peace
