Tag: opinion

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5 favorite fruits

List your top 5 favorite fruits.

My 5 favorite fruits:

Mango, pineapple,  and papaya as each one reminds me of my childhood in Ghana.  Plus, their sweet flavor and juicy flavors always leave a wondrous taste in your mouth. Apples are my go to fruit, I love the crunch, sweet and tangy combination that makes you salivate for more.  Finally, oranges are a reminder of my grandmother’s, mother, and mother-in-law  who all enjoyed eating them.

So which is my favorite? It’s a mood thing. I believe my mood dictates my preferences,  very much like when I’m craving chocolate!

My poetry book, Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, is available on all eplatforms including Amazon.  It was on the finalist list for the Canadian Book Club Awards 2023.

https://www.amazon.ca/Perfectly-Flawed-poetry-Malak-Kalmoni/dp/1525582518

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Rights: home

What does freedom mean to you?

To me, freedom equals having a home and family that endure under the obstacles of life. When I say home, I mean the people who occupy the house, family unit that could be related by blood or not. It’s one of those rights that give emotional and physical security in order to be ambitious in life and strive to improve your material or social status. Yes, that is a very colonial perspective,  but then I witnessed 2 civil wars as a child, lived in 3 continents,  all before I turned 12. Perhaps colonialism also taught me to appreciate my home because I had to rebuild it so many times in my 5 decades plus of life.

Home?

Where is home?
What is home?

These questions circle
Ceaselessly and kindle

The quest for answers for:
Where and what is home for?

I’ve immigrated to three
Continents searching for thee.

Why do you hide from me?
Why do you flee and oblige me

To search you out in lands gone mad?
How is that fair on a child who feels bad?

From the tropics to the Mediterranean,
To North America, in search of what you mean.

The child in me
Misses the simplicity of love,

Laughter that is innate,
But shaken with wars and fate,


That take away all joy and faith
In a moment of stolen breath.

Embrace the joy you’re given,
For tomorrow may bring hell or heaven.

©️Malak Kalmoni Chehab ©️

Poetess,  author of poetry book, Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, that’s available on all eplatforms including Amazon.  It was on the finalist list for the Canadian Book Club Awards 2023.

https://www.amazon.ca/Perfectly-Flawed-poetry-Malak-Kalmoni/dp/1525582518

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Prompt:

Do you have a quote you live by or think of often?

Yes, we have an Arabic saying: ‘Pretend not to notice, live longer and refreshed.” For me, it’s the perfect moto to live by or go to when put in a situation where you don’t want to debase yourself to the level of ignorance or stupidity of those around you.  This especially applies to family relationships,  where it’s easier to ignore comments or actions that could lead to arguments,  even confrontations. However,  when you know that person will  not be logical,  but rather unmoving in their opinion,  it’s simpler to drop the subject altogether.

My poetry book, Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, is available on all eplatforms, including Amazon.  It was on the finalist list for the Canadian Book Club Awards 2023.

https://www.amazon.ca/Perfectly-Flawed-poetry-Malak-Kalmoni/dp/1525582518

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Confrontations

What makes you nervous?

Confrontations that may hurt other people’s feelings, especially family members,  are my worst nightmare.  In all honesty,  I usually bottle up my problems so that when I do finally confront the person, my reaction is usually stronger, more aggressive than it should be. That alone creates more problems.  I’m working on being more upfront with my feelings,  but it’s difficult to change 5 decades of behavior in a short time.

My poetry book, Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, is available on all eplatforms including Amazon. It was on the finalist list for the Canadian Book Club Awards 2023.

https://www.amazon.ca/Perfectly-Flawed-poetry-Malak-Kalmoni/dp/1525582518

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Social Division through Labels

What would you change about modern society?

Modern society has a tendency to create class/ label subdivisions in order to create distance, even dissention among the population. It’s ironic, really, how by coming up with a variety of labels that are racial, neurological, gender specific, and more are invariably creating communities within communities that create separation and division between a community. These classifications make communication more difficult,  as traditional rules don’t apply, more specifically, they deviate from the norm, creating a greater gap in understanding the needs of all. I may be backwards or too traditional, but at least in a world where gender roles, values, acceptable behavior, and norms have all become skewed.

My poetry book, Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, is available on all eplatforms including Amazon. It was on the finalist list for the Canadian Book Club Awards 2023.

https://www.amazon.ca/Perfectly-Flawed-poetry-Malak-Kalmoni/dp/1525582518

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Family, coffee, sweets, smiles, and hugs

What are 5 everyday things that bring you happiness?

Having my family around me is heavenly,  as I’m surrounded by their smiles and ‘optional’ hugs (i say they’reoptional,  but really, they’redemanded.) All of those start my dau right, but only after a quiet cup of coffee, taken in solitude,  with my thinking cap and following up on writing challenges and contests. Lastly, sweets come in 2 forms: happy family and chocolate! The first I have an abundance of (blessed), while the other, I either bake to assuage my sweet tooth or get a really melt-in-your-mouth chocolate bar.

These things may seem simple or taken for granted. However,  I’m not one of those who does, as I believe it’s the simple things in life that give me joy. Take the time to celebrate them too, as they never last as long as you want them to.

Poetess,  author of poetry book, Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, that’s available on all eplatforms, including Amazon.  It was on the finalist list for the Canadian Book Club Awards 2023.

https://www.amazon.ca/Perfectly-Flawed-poetry-Malak-Kalmoni/dp/1525582518

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Tennis and ski

What Olympic sports do you enjoy watching the most?

Why those 2 you ask? Well simple really, I loved playing those sports and white I watch,  I feel the exhiliration of a strategically placed ball that ends up being a winner. As for ski, I can imagine feeling the speed, the wind, the icy feel of the snow, the danger of a fall, all the while embracing the beauty of the freedom it gives as you ski downhill.

My poetry book,Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, is available on all eplatforms, including Amazon. It was on the finalist list for the Canadian Book Club Awards 2023.

https://www.amazon.ca/Perfectly-Flawed-poetry-Malak-Kalmoni/dp/1525582518

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Back to normal

How have you adapted to the changes brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic?

The only time I adopt the mask is when I’m sick, and I don’t wish to limit the spread of the virus I have. However,  I’ve seen first year college/ university students actually move away from a handshake or  hug. They’ve adapted by being less social by not knowing how to open a conversation or keep it going. More, they’ve become so afraid of covid that they’re distancing themselves from peers and using their phones more often to communicate.

My poetry book,Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, is available on all eplatforms including Amazon. It was on the finalist list for the Canadian Book Club Awards 2023.

https://www.amazon.ca/Perfectly-Flawed-poetry-Malak-Kalmoni/dp/1525582518

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No

Are you superstitious?

I believe in destiny and fate, not superstitions that are illogical, like a Wishing well, or black cat walking under a ladder bringing bad luck, or number 13, you get the drift. So, no, I’m not destined to believe that superstitions are real, but rather, one has a destiny that’s preordained, but one has a choice of achieving it the righteous way, or not.

My poetry book, Perfectly Flawed poetry for change, is available on all eplatforms, including Amazon. It was on the finalist list for the Canadian Book Club Awards 2023.

https://www.amazon.ca/Perfectly-Flawed-poetry-Malak-Kalmoni/dp/1525582518

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Opinion prompt

What is one question you hate to be asked? Explain.

I hate being asked if all Muslims are terrorists. This question has been around for centuries now, and as yet, people haven’t been educated enough to realize that Muslims are a peaceful lot in general. The word, Muslim, means peace, which is indoctrinated within Muslims to be at peace within themselves and with their entourage. This means that they seek peace through their prayers and reading of the quoraan in order to learn and apply that peace in their lives.

Yes, there are some Muslim terrorists but those who kill indiscriminately women and children, in my eyes aren’t true Muslims, as Islam teaches us to honor our women, especially mothers under whose prayers and goodwill opens the gates of heaven. Therefore, I implore those with that question to do some research because that question hurts believers unbearably.