“What’s this mania for dogs?” an elderly man, who belongs to the affluent class, inquired of his companion, as they walked past us, exercising their limbs in quest of longevity. I averted my face and continued my watchfulness over the nose of my tiny dog, who would win the Noble Prize for sniffing if such a contest is introduced in the years to come. That … Continue reading Milieu II by Susie Gharib
In the wake of numerous regional and civil wars, disease, curfews and devastating earthquakes, which have all led to an impoverished state, I decide to fill each deprivation-bred day with a portion of something beautiful that defies the Furies, the godly elite and the scribes of destination that have proliferated and thrived in recent years. A diary, which keeps a record of the events or … Continue reading Something Beautiful by Susie Gharib
We were safely sleeping in our roomswhen my brother was awakened by the foul breath of a stormthat violently rattled his windowand ominously groaned. As he was checking on inmates and locks,alarmed by the raging sea that not very distantly foamed,the floor shook beneath his feetand the walls began to move to and fro. I heard him call my namein a loud but shaky tone.I left my … Continue reading The Earthquake of 6 Feb 2023 by Susie Gharib
Give alternatives for the following, the teacher commands, with a grin,the twelve-year-old who is eager to pass his test.Moonlight, the teacher states with a grimace:A neon tube, the boy promptly replies.A canopy of trees for shelter:A bus stop.A proper bath:A free drizzle.A candle-lit dinner:Chips without fish.Sailing the ocean:Paper boats.A holiday abroad:A book from the public library.Doting parents:Street busking.A pair of pajamas:Old, tattered clothes.Attending church:Text messaging … Continue reading Alternatives by Susie Gharib
I am writing an ode for youour approaching twenty twenty-threeto appease the wrath in your genes,a hereditary trait,to appeal to the demented elements for much-needed clemency,to entreat the clashing warlordsto cease their animosities,to spare our infants displacementand drowning across traversed seas, to annul the prophetic proclamationsof a postmodern Madame Sosostris. I am writing an ode for you despite our embedded despondencyover the plagues that stride the avenuesof underdeveloped … Continue reading 2023 by Susie Gharib
After years of living in Frostitowne,of surviving blizzards and unabating snowstorms,he resolved to renounce one of the ruling gods,and by incensing his anger,secure a lodging in the infernal underworld. His frozen marrow that imbibed the heat with gleeastounded Charon who had earlier ferried him.The cramped toes that looked like frosted clawsbegan to drip their molten wax.His chilblains dissolved in the boiling sulfur that poured on his … Continue reading The Cost of Living in Hell by Susie Gharib
His mind had stripped every surrounding object of color, shape and sound. Substance is an illusion that deludes one’s eyes. He claims to have insulated every nerve cell in his nose so that no smell or odor can resurrect any shreds of the past, any associations or residue that may in his subconscious still reside. He boasts the fact that his ears need no plugs … Continue reading Oblivion by Susie Gharib
I teach Virginia Woolf to fourth-year students in the English Department at the University of Ethics in the middle part of the globe. I have a lot of fun explaining her technique to a hundred eager students by always beginning with my own stream of consciousness which is triggered by the word Glasgow. A string of images flows beginning with the swans at Knightswood Park … Continue reading Streams of Consciousness by Susie Gharib
Your agony is flowingin my veins,the accumulating residueof thousands of decades,of women entrappedwithin allotted spheres. In the name of protection,you were banished awayfrom the stimulus of Londonwhich had allayedthat innermost lonelinessof the emancipated. A new type of atticengulfed your fragile frame,so every woman is made to believethat madness is the outcomeof intellectual freedom. Continue reading Virginia Woolf by Susie Gharib
The first time I became familiar with such a conceptI was teaching For Whom the Bell Tolls to undergrads.The idea appealed to my sense of decorum,so I decided to adopt such a challenging stance,yet it came to me naturallyas I was attuned to the stoical way of lifeand one manifestation was during the never-ending Syrian war. Four rockets fell not far where I stood,lecturing on … Continue reading Grace Under Pressure by Susie Gharib
