I AM a Malaysian woman who arrived in Bahrain in January 2020. I am mesmerised by Bahrain’s culture and history. This has inspired me to write the poem below.
Oh You, City by the Sea
I would gladly take your
Lazy afternoons
Traipsing around your quiet Suq
Scented with spices
While your ouds lead me
Along alleyways
Bursting of old days
In dilapidated walls
Full of stories
Over the skyscrapers
Reaching towards the sky
As cold as black steel.
I would rather sit quietly
In a corner of the shop
Sipping Karak tea
Red with saffron
A taste I will always crave
And yet can never describe
Watching old friends speaking
In tongues so exotic, so foreign
And yet so soothing to my ears.
I am in love with you
Oh you, City by the Sea
And I wouldn’t trade
Life in your unhurried days
With the glitter, or hustle and bustle
Of neighbours over yonder
No –
I wouldn’t have it any other way.
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