Poetry for Changei'm a survivorof 2 civilwars, Ghana, Lebanon, all before the age of 11. The result was immigration to 3 continents as a teen, which leaves an influence upon the soul that cries out for justice. My poetry and writing reflect that and more.
PEACE
Acrostic
Please pray and provide peaceful
Elemental needs for those in danger of
Armed military conquests, who
Convene to critically splice countries to support their
Economies and spread fear of their power.
©️ Malak kalmoni chehab ©️
Author of Perfectly Flawed poetry for change
https://www.amazon.ca/Perfectly-Flawed-poetry-Malak-Kalmoni/dp/1525582518
‘Oh Woman’ published in Gival press issue 187
What have you been working on?
I’ve been working on submitting my new poetry book to 2 sites, hoping one will pick it up. It’s harder than you think it is, as I already have the poetry written. However, the problem is the organization of the poems under 3 themes, which will make it more manageable. I’m struggling too with the time I need to pit into it, knowing I have a deadline and balancing my duties and work. I miss the simplicity of just writing for myself. On the other hand, I feel like I’ve grown beyond that, since I have things to share with the world.
Above is the link to my first collection of poems, in the book, Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, that’s on the finalist list for the Canadian Book Club Awards. Another poem: Oh Woman, was published a week ago in ArLiJo, Gival press, another is published in Unseal Your Power:
https://amzn.to/47RpSFt
Follow the link to get an idea where writers store their ideas, those they DIDN’T write down!
https://www.tumblr.com/writing-prompt-s/729891677540597760?source=share
That’s the reason why I have Notes on my phone. Even when walking, I stop to jot down a word or idea for a poem, then, I complete the writing when I have a few minutes! There are even times when the idea transforms completely when I start writing.
Thank you, Marie Harris, for the honor! The picture prompts you produce are always amazing!
Winter’s Hold
A quater of the full moon
Is covered by blue clouds,
Looking like Swiss cheeses
Whose borders are tree branches,
Naked from any adornments.
As the other tree’s branches rise
Higher, they touch the smoke
Coming out of chimney’s poke,
That reaches into the sky, a supplication stroke,
To an unending, breathtaking look
Generating a reverence for the real,
Imposing nature of winter’s bold
Winter scenery that takes a hold
Over you, as wonder as beauty’s cold
Reverence stretches into the raven sky taking in the fold.
As the branches hug the moon,
So does nature embrace man’s vicarious
Need to expand into its territory, vivacious
In his propagation, uncaring of his malicious
Effect on nature’s cycle that’s on the way to decimation.
©️ Malak kalmoni chehab ©️
What principles define how you live?
The principles that drive me most are honesty, faith, and justice. When it comes to honesty, we have a saying that says, ‘honesty will hurt in the moment, but it will also teach you’, perhaps it’s a harsh lesson, but when it’s learned from friends and family it’s better than from strangers. I’ve always hated liars and pretenders who talk a good game but are really envious of your honesty and strength to stand by it. So, yes, I will choose honesty, always.
Faith for me, defines the principles I live by: nurturer, respectful, accepting, flexible, listener, just, and a person who tries as much as possible to practice what I preach. Included in my faith is the acceptance that justice prevails always, whether you make sure people give it to you, or if you leave it to God to get it for you, because Karma is a b-tch and will bite you in the ass!
The first is an acrostic poem titled: FORGIVENESS, while the second is titled: Glory’s Bower.
Glory’s Bower
Morning glory climbing vine,
Purple, violet, red, pink, or white,
Colors of a rainbow of hope
That delivers expansion and will grope
Your archway by making it fine!
As I run through its delicacy,
I note the difference in clemency
From one side to the other, as I bravely
Cross the framed beauties, cleverly
Hoping that the other side will have more mercy.
No more than an inch separates the bower
From the white picket gate, where a shower
Of light bathes the garden bed with a cover
Of verdant hues, that shame any painter.
As I cross into this splendor,
I note colors are sharper,
Each plant has its own area, a platter
Filled with diverse shapes, sizes, and sister,
It takes away your breath in a blinker
As you tinker with nature’s fauna that never cower
To either man or nature’s
Storms that are in never ending cycles
Of births and deaths, that keep hopes
Alive in every heart, as it shows justice’s
Plight, as it ends certain lifes.
Stay in your bower of morning
Glories and enjoy the perpetual crooning
Of an ecosystem in harmony, dancing!
©️ Malak kalmoni chehab ©️
FORGIVENESS
Forge your will in steal,
Outmaneuver your enemies, who feel,
Replete in knowing they’re the heel.
Give them your support when they fall,
Inspire them to be better than before.
View their progress and motivate before you bore,
Inverting foe to friend, like before.
Never lose hope for betterment
Even when all is stacked against you,
Simmer the anger, put logic to the forefront
Survive, learn, educate, that hope is never gone.
©️ Malak Kalmoni Chehab ©️
https://www.amazon.ca/Perfectly-Flawed-poetry-Malak-Kalmoni/dp/1525582518
What is your favorite hobby or pastime?
I’ve always been a reader who was sucked into the novel and felt that I’ve watched it as if seeing a movie. As though that’s not enough, I enjoy buying books, some of which I don’t read, but buy newer ones! I feel like I have a friend in each book, where I connect to a fictitious world that seems real to me. I’ve come to enjoy books that surprise me, whether in plot, theme, content, character, or even dialogue. Those are the books I search for today.
Writing has been with me since my 30s, when I returned to university after having 2 children and pregnant with my third. I liked poetry writing most, as comparisons, allegories, and events are shorter in nature, direct yet subtle, and require a lot of cultural knowledge, literature, and news. My book, Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, was published during the pandemic and has only now been chosen as a finalist in the Canadian Book Club Awards. Two other poems are featured in anthologies or magazines, while others have won me certificates for Facebook contests. (FriesenPress add on their Instagram.) https://www.amazon.ca/Perfectly-Flawed-poetry-Malak-Kalmoni/dp/1525582518
Unseal Your power, is the anthology featuring one of my poems.
https://amzn.to/47RpSFt
As for walking, it’s my way to relieve pent-up stres, as well as taking the time to talk to my husband, whose constant encouragement helps me push myself to stay healthy!
https://instagram.com/stories/friesenpress/3209279815677488261?igshid=MTc4MmM1YmI2Ng==
My poetry book, Perfectly Flawed: poetry for change, is a finalist in the Canadian Book Club Awards for poetry.
Exert: Lives Matter, inspired by BLM after G. Floyd was murdered. https://www.amazon.ca/Perfectly-Flawed-poetry-Malak-Kalmoni/dp/1525582518
Poetry for Change 