To Rise Above the Fences: Poetry

THE STRONG SUNFLOWER

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This book was written in hopes of inspiring others. These poems are visions of art that I bring to you from my heart and soul. Some of the poems are true experiences in my life, while others are imaginary! Become inspired, in the inspiration and life sections. Bring romance into your life, in the love section. Wander through the beauty of Nature, in the Nature section. Read more Read less. Prime Book Box for Kids. About the Author Growing up as the youngest child with several years between me and my siblings.

AuthorHouse January 18, Language: Related Video Shorts 0 Upload your video. Try the Kindle edition and experience these great reading features: Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a customer review. There was a problem filtering reviews right now. Please try again later. The poems are easy to read and follow in rhyme and rhythm! They touched my heart.

Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers. Learn more about Amazon Giveaway. To Rise Above the Fences: Set up a giveaway. There's a problem loading this menu right now. They are taking people from Syria but Syrian people are here in offshore and they are not accepting them so this is unfair. So you still have contact with your family in Syria? I have contact with my family but you know, with the situation it is very hard.

But yeah, sometimes I contact with my family. My friends, I lost them. So where is your family now? Are they in Syria or somewhere else? Are they safe now? Did it affect your friends or family. No it is a little bit away from my family. Obeida I have another question. Do you love someone or something the most in your life? This is not freedom [to live] somewhere else in PNG. It is not freedom to settle in danger.

We will not have freedom in Australia or somewhere else. I loved one girl in Syria so she talked about marrying me and we got engaged. So was it love engaged or someone organised for you? It was love engaged. So you guys met in Syria? And then you came here and you got engaged ?

Yes, because we were not thinking we live in here long time — like now for 5 years. So that is the reason she break up with you? When you broke up with her how was your feelings? Of course you were in Lombrum then, so how was your feeling? It is hard to explain this feeling. Yes, especially when you were in Lombrum, a terrible place. Yeah, and you love someone and you cannot see them or touch them for long long time. And after that you lost them. So how can you describe the pain? You know that time … I think by then its better for me [to break up] you know, at that time.

Yeah… but after these long years I try to forget. You suffer too much my friend. I am sorry for this. Do you like any music. What kind of music? Yes I like to listen to English music sometime. I love to hear the English music more than Arabic.

You know sometimes in the night you like to listen to sad music because of this situation you know. When you are happy, you will listen to romantic music or something happy. Yes, I can say music is our only friend that we have got here that can give us a little bit of happiness and strength. One more thing I wanted to ask you about Tiger [Tiger was a young stray dog that Obeida adopted]. He was our friend. Yes, he was my best friend. Yes, he was your best friend. I see in photos you are with him and he with you every time. Yes, rest in peace our friend, Tiger.

How do you feel about losing this friend? When I lose him, when I lost my friend I put my heart with him, in the ground with him. Because when I walk, always Tiger was with me. When I go somewhere, Tiger was with me. I lost something from my heart. You know I think half of my heart is gone. Tiger was such a relation. He was like our friend. The whole compound friend. Yes he was everyones. Especially he was close with you. Yeah, because before you had a friend walking with you.

Like Tiger was my friend. Now I never feel safe. I am sorry it is terrible news.

I hope you find and adopt another dog or something. You will never feel safe because the security will … attack us, take you to prison or try to kill us, already kill four or five friends, you know. I heard you had been taken to Chauka — in I think. Yes, I go to Chauka prison and also the Lorengau prison.

How many days you were in Chauka? Maybe for 3 days. One time 24 hours. What was the reason they take you to Chauka? You know one time they take me to Chauka because I have — you remember we have one sick man was Syria? He had long time been sick and he had a broken nose from Syria. He was very very sick and I tried to help him. Security were beating him. I just tried to protect his body and security arrest me and take me to Chauka.

Where is he now? You know his father is dead from the war. In his city it is so bad. So you were trying to protect him when the security were beating him. Yes, so they take me to Chauka. So can you try to explain the Chauka, what kind of place was that like?

So do they give you toilet, no water, no bathroom? Yeah, I saw some pictures. Yes, they give you hot water. You can drink only one bottle of water in a day. Only one bottle on a hot day! Hot day under the sun. Inside the container, under the sun, oh, you know if you sleep its like you swim in the water because of the sweat, you know.

They give you only little little food. Not allowed to have fan or air con. When you were in Chauka did security guys beat you or give you some problem? No just talking too bad, you know. So they give you some pain with their words. They never beat me but when they are talking bad with you it is like they beat you, you know. If they beat you it is better than talking with you badly. You cannot do anything, you are a prisoner. Playing with feelings and trying to give you negative words to make you upset, to make you sad?

What is your hope and motivation that keeps you up and strong? My family and doing something for them. So its a really good thing because your family keep you up and you are strong and still thinking what you can do. So I really hope you can do something for your family and that you can be with them in a safe country. I pray for you.

What is your dreams or goals when you are released and get to a safe country? What will be your dreams? I want to help people. To help the people who other people torture them, try to help them, the poor people. This is my dream. It was really nice talking to you Obieda. So what will be the three things you want to do for the world it you could? The first thing I try to bring peace for Syria. I hope the refugees will not be suffering in the compound and in the centre. I love to see the refugees free.

To see country like Australia help the refugees not torturing the refugees, not put them in prison, but help them. We are in a prison. To see the refugees are ok, have a good life. One thing else, I hope that all the world love each other, you know, thinking only about love, not thinking about religion, or the colour, you are black or white. You know this is how they brought us, this is how they bring us here, only thinking about religion.

I hope all the people thinking only for love. Nothing about the religion or colour. So you want to do three things for the world. To build peace in Syria, stop the persecution of refugees, like you want to end all the detention centres, people who suffer in detention and the third will be love. You want to make love, no racism, nothing like that, no torture in the name of religion. Thank you very much for being with me today and it was really inspiring to be with you again.

I am pleased that you are with me and yes we know the situation and how it is. It is a terrible situation. I think we have finished now what was in our mind and what was in my mind and I can say you are very positive person and a gentleman and I hope this detention will end soon.

We are still hopeful for that because we have to. We have to be positive every time so again thank you very much Obieda. It was very nice. How do you spell death in this place called Manus Island? Who will bring a red carnation like my heart was? And they can in the window of your own eyes without tears Not as a sign of pain But as a tribute of silence and indignation… This is what others who pass by your side will say: Manus Island June Until when we will say RIP and forget it.

P hotographer Michelle Bui. From MD Imran facebook post June 9 We lost Salim because of the lack of proper treatment and negligence by the Australian government. His death, and many others who died on Manus, was preventable.

Breath of Life (Danna Faulds)

I wish the Australian government had allowed him a sudden death instead of the agonisingly slow death he experienced. In the meantime, I would like to express my deep gratitude to all my brothers on Manus Island and every single Australian who showed their solidarity, expressed their condolences and stood up against this inhumane action. Although Salim is not among us anymore, he is still remembered and alive through many hearts. This is the human spirit and I thank everyone again for keeping this power alive.

The system the Australian government has designed for refugees and asylum seekers, has a kind of evil and devastating effect. It can ruin the very inner strength of human spirit. To the outsider, Fariborz took his own life, but the truth is the system took his life.

There is no alternative explanation, and we must hold the Australian government accountable for this action. The silence of his unimaginable suffering must have reached saturation point. We have now lost seven lives from the hell of Manus and five from Nauru. All were full of life. Even though I am now safely in America, the experiences I suffered on Manus are always on my mind and bind me to Australia. I will use every opportunity to record the barbaric acts towards fragile refugees and asylum seekers. Here in Manus, we need some beautiful, transient distractions to help us tolerate continuous tortures…Those pictures are beautiful landscapes for you, but for me, they are just different corners of my prison.

See My Humanity is an exhibition of paintings by Nasir Moradi. From the MAFA artists: Everyone has rights and responsibilities as part of being a civic member of the world, beyond the citizenship to a specific nation. There will be an engaging talk with drinks and nibbles on the night. Everyone is welcome so please invite family and friends to come along. The exhibition is open at Space2b Artspace from Tue 5 June to Fri 30 June so please drop in to view the exhibit during our open times.

Tue-Fri 10am-5pm Sat 10am-2pm. Our stolen time and freedom will be given to us again. Our exhausted minds and hearts will be restored. We will start re-building our shattered lives in freedom. We will re-start living in the heart of beautiful, calm and clean nature without being surrounded with black, despicable high fences and closed metallic doors and sharp- barbed wires. My heartfelt clear message to the rest of my brothers still detained in the corner of dark detention centres in Indonesia and across the world. We will start flying in blue skies like free birds……….

You can find the pack for this recital on our website under freepoetry.

flowers along a chainlink fence // poems

Welcome to the Writing Through Fences blog for May. May has been a a very hard time for so many of us at Writing Through Fences. However, many have kept creating and there has been some happy news. Congratulations on your marriage Boush. Do I deserve to fall in love with you?

Do I deserve to get happiness from you? Do I deserve to feel you? My eyes are full of tears, begging you to come back. My broken heart is begging you to come back. My scared soul is begging you to come back. Despite lots of pain, my lips still get a smile when I remind beautiful memories. Despite lots of tears, my eyes are still looking at those lovely days.

Despite lots of suffering, my heart still wants you to come back. Life is like smoke around me, my dreams are disappeared in smoke. How lovely those days and nights were when I was talking to my dreams. Life is rude to me, no reason to live. A disgusting flood has come into my life not letting me to chase down my dreams. I quietly keep crying and crying during the nights My pillow is my only support to absorb my tears. My heart wants to say something: Give me some Sunshine. Give me some rain. Give me another chance, I want to grow up once again.

I Will Rise

I was surrounded by water, where waves are trained to swallow human beings and fish are trained to feed upon our dead bodies. I was surrounded, in a quiet world where eyes can see nothing and ears can hear nothing, but the smell of dead bodies blows from east to west. I spent the whole night struggling with big mountains of waves one after another, swearing to catch that dream, as many did — the ocean a nation of people. I woke in the morning and found myself still among huge hills of waves.

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The biggest wave swallowed that boat nation and the smallest one threatened my path. I screamed out for help and imagined what those border protectors were doing when big waves swallowed those people. I screamed out and waved up their flag on the sky, but they were still pretending they have no eyes. I screamed out again and waved the others flag. They hastily came and turned me away from my destination. Here we are focusing on the work of two women, artist Miream Salameh and poet Hani Abdile. Clay…wood…stone … and fingers made of music in labor sculpting the mirror of her depth.

Miream Salameh in https: She made her way to Australia by boat and was detained on Christmas Island. While detained, Hani found healing in writing poetry. Hani has received numerous awards for her community work and writing. You can purchase it from our shop on this website. Do we often forget to love ourselves and care for ourselves?

For the past few years I have become a poetry addict and I have realized that I find love and joy within myself. Even though most of the time I wrote to give a voice to people that struggle on a daily basis, I also wrote for my soul because my soul seeks unity and an acceptance of love within my body. As a young woman, I had my own challenges; I know your story might have the same start but definitely a different ending.

There were times I thought my new home, a home that is safe, would never come. On this journey I often try to understand why women, despite what part of the world we are born, find putting ourselves first hard to do and we bear the demeaning responsibilities. My eyes have seen so many abuses swept under the rug. This mixture of feelings results in a culture of threat, as these feelings get stronger they turn into anxiety, and we see ourselves as worthless because the past is haunting us. But whenever that happens, you have to take a second and say: We all have that untold story that we conceal, we all have that untold story that takes us onto a dusty road, we all have that untold story that blurs our vision, and we all have that untold story with wounds that are yet to heal.

But at the end of the day we just have to wake up and brush off the dust. Personally, life has been bitter sweet for me. When these days of dizziness and confusion arrive I try to step out of it, be myself and keep writing because the more I write poetry and tell my story and the story of my sisters, I feel relief. Take note and just tell yourself you are the foundation of power and only the sky is the limit.

I often feel I find a voice and love for myself within poetry. Other powerful female poets around me might agree. This is a poem that I thought would inspire the young women of the next generation: Dear self Think of it this way, You now have a chance to be better everyday You now have a chance to understand more about you About people around you and the whole world So be wise and highlight your mistakes And those who pretty much take themselves too high.

Reject them and be true to yourself. Dear self I want be by your side through the excitement and desperation of life I want to offer you a love as a fundamental act of self compassion I want to offer you a lamp that will Light up your future. Dear self Look at your reflection in the mirror Notice all the mistakes, Smile and say, This too shall pass.

And we remember his murder 4 years ago in the Manus Prison. The city of Sirwan. Mothers cry upon the oldest city, cry for Reza and Fazel. I heard all the beautiful mountains in Kurdistan are crying.

Mindfulness Poetry for Transformation

All of Sirwan is crying. Mountain, rivers, wild flowers … all crying. All of Sirwan is crying, all separated from their mothers. I hear the most ancient of chants, I hear the mothers chanting in the city of Ilam, in the city of Sirwan, all throughout Kurdistan. I hear their cries from inside Manus prison. This form of chant is called Mour. Mour is the oldest of songs, a song the Kurdish mothers chant for their boys and warriors who lose their lives fighting against enemies that attack the land of Kurdistan.

It is a song for brave sons. Fazel and Reza were brave sons. They fought for their lives. When I was in Kurdistan, I climbed up the highest mountain on many occasions. The oldest chestnut oak trees reside up there. I hear the chestnut oaks crying too. My heart is extremely heavy, as I heard the deepest and most sorrowful Mour chanted by my mother today. This is Kurdish culture. We are born by song, live by song, fight by song, and die by song. He deserves the deepest Mour to be sung for him.

My heart is heavy because I am crying and listening to a Mour sung for my best friend, sung in a prison on the remotest island in the world. I never thought I would hear Mour sung for the bravest of Kurdish sons out on a remote island, out in the middle of a massive, silent ocean. I always think about the Mour my mother will chant for me when I die. I thought that song would be sung for me in beautiful Kurdistan. I am sure Reza and Fazel had this thought just like me, but their lives were taken in a remote place, not in Kurdistan. They lost their lives because of injustice.

They lost their lives in a foreign land. Who was there when their lives were taken?

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