Life haiku

Life is a ball game;
When it sends you a curved ball,
Make sure to bat it!

Life is a marble
Hard glass encases a core
That’s unreachable

Life’s like a leek;
Each layer that you remove,
Brings the core closer

Life is an onion
It’s got several layers
And it makes you cry!

Life is a blanket;
It will give security
But it may smother

Life is a fire;
Stray too close, and it burns you;
Say safe; feel its warmth

Life is a statue
When it stands, it’s lifeless
If it moves, it’s false

Life is an alloy;
As elusive as mercury,
But precious as gold

Life is a shadow
Following my every move
When will I be free?

Life is like lemons;
Be sour or make lemonade,
You pick your option!

Life is a cascade
It takes your breath away, or
Purifies your soul

Life is a corner
Of the street or of a room;
According to choice

Life is a cycle;
Flowers bloom, and then wither
Leaving seeds for more

Life is a circle
No beginning and no end –
Embracing a void

Life is a drawbridge
You can shut everyone out
Or allow access!

Life is a fir cone
Showing a hard exterior
That life breaks open

Life is a gamble
Dice are cast and lots are drawn;
Winner takes it all!

Life is a journey;
Bad signposts and bumpy roads
Drive you up the wall

Life is a moonbeam
Contrasting with the darkness
Lighting up your path

Life is a peanut
Crunchy inside the shell, or
Smooth peanut butter

Life is a quarry
Remember that though you dig,
Nothing’s set in stone

Life is a slow dance;
Alone or with a partner
Take it as it comes

Life is a spiral
Whether it leads up or down
Is yours to decide

Life is a journey
Riddled with many pit stops;
Make time to use them

Life is a masked ball;
You have to face the music
Of perfect strangers

Life is a playground
Winning on the roundabout
Just makes you dizzy

Life is an acorn
Kernels nestled in wood cloaks
Squirrels’ winter stocks

Life is highs and lows
From flip-flops to stilettos;
According to mood

Life’s a delusion;
On the surface all’s perfect
But below’s rotten

Life’s a fairytale;
And one day you’ll wake up
To the bleakest truth.

Life’s made of extremes
When the buddy system fails,
Find strength in yourself.

Life is a bar-code.
Lots of lines; all mean something…
Inexplicable!

Life is a cascade
It takes your breath away, or
Purifies your soul.

Life is a cycle;
Flowers bloom, and then wither…
Leaving seeds for more.

Life is a mountain;
Rope, climbing shoes and warm clothes…
Equal importance.

Life is a mountain
Sheer cliffs; dead drops; an ice-cap;
But no lush valley

Life is a slow dance;
Alone or with a partner
Take it as it comes.

Life is a spiral
Whether it leads up or down
Is yours to decide.

Life is a journey
Riddled with many pit stops
Make time to use them!

Life is a masked ball;
You have to face the music
Of perfect strangers.

Life is for living
Don’t save your kisses because
They’ll all go to waste.

Life is so precious
The irony of it all
Is not knowing it!

Life’s a fairy-tale;
And one day you’ll wake up
To the bleakest truth.

Waħda Tinkiteb!

Fraw-la! Frawl-la!

Anqas biss dawwart wiċċi. Kont għaraftu dak il-leħen nażali. Ħadni lura s-snin. Kemm kienet tieħu gost twaqqani għaċ-ċajt u tweġġani. Possibbli ma xebgħetx, wara das-snin kollha, tirrepeti l-istess kelma?

Oħti Carmen kienet ittennili li Janet kienet tgħir għalija, għax kont brava iżjed minnha fl-iskola, u qatt ma rnexxielha ġġib iżjed marki minni, f’ebda’ suġġett, minn mindu konna fl-ewwel klassi tal-Primarja. Imma jien xorta kont nara kif nagħmel biex naħrabha, barra mill-iskola.

Imma illum – illum kien hemm Air Raid Warning ieħor. Mur sabbarni li kelli ninzertaha fit-triq, wara r-Raiders Passed.

Għan-naqra ma hadthiex għal wiċċi fit-terrapien. Fixlitni. Imma issa li wasalt s’hawn, ma kontx ha naqta’ qalbi minħabba peċluqa bħal dik.

Missieri kien miet meta jien kelli sitt snin, u oħti kellha ħdax-il sena. Bilkemm kien ikollna x’nieklu, aħseb u ara kemm kien ser ikun hemm flus biex inneħħi x-xewqa forma ta’ frawla, f’nofs wiċċi, kieku kien hemm il-lażer dak iż-żmien. Xi ħadd kien qal lil ommi li setgħu jagħmluli operazzjoni li jħaffruli l-ħadd. Bilkemm ikunu jidhru l-punti, qalulha. Imma hi rraġunat li ma setgħetx tiddeċiedi għalija, u li kont għadni żgħira wisq biex nagħżel li nagħmel hekk, sempliċiment biex neħles mill-laqam. U jekk jiġrili xi ħaġa, qatt ma kienet tkun tista’ tinsa li kienet hi l-kaġun.

Kont nara kif nomxot biex ngħatti nofs wiċċi. Imma kulħadd kien jaf bid-difett tiegħi. Jaħassra. Miskina. Illum drajtha; anqas biss jgħaddili minn moħħi li nneħiha. Min iħares lejja, jagħmilli pjaċir, u min ma jħarisx, jagħmilli wieħed ikbar. Imma dak il-ħin, kont instramt.

Mn’alla kelli rasi iebsa. Kienu jwerwruna li l-munzelli tat-terrapien ma kienux iridu wisq biex jisfrondaw u jordmuna taħthom. Imma jien kont indunajt li kienu qed jgħidu hekk biex ħadd ma jmur jisraq mid-djar imġarrfa. Jien ma ridt xejn ta’ ħadd. Ridt biss dak li kont għeriqt l-għaraq tad-demm għalih; jekk naf x’naf, kont ser nirkupra l-laptop l-antik u l-box-files tiegħi. Għalija, kienu jiswew ferm iżjed minn mitqlhom deheb.

Uħud issograw ħajjithom għall-ġojjellerija tagħhom, jew għall-ħażna tal-ikel, biex ibiegħuh bil-Black Market.

Jien ma lħaqthiex it-Tieni Gwerra Dinjija, imma n-nannu jgħid li din il-qerda t’issa hija eżattament bħal dik ta’ meta hu kien għadu tifel. Allura dan hu, il-progress? Iżda għall-inqas, hu għex – mhux bħal-eluf li mietu minn marda misterjuża li biha dak li jkun kien jisgħol u jtella’ d-demm, u jaqa’ zobtu.

Bilħaqq – kelli kaxxa floppy discs x’indur, ukoll. Kont għoddni nsejt. Din li l-provvista tal-elettriku kienet ta’ siegħa biss kuljum kienet qed teqridni. Mn’alla ntella’ mitt kelma fil-minuta. Robert jaf jinnaviga fil-computers, u rnexxielu jqabbadli tower antik mal-laptop biex jaqrali l-floppies… mijiet ta’ siegħat ta’ xogħol, li kieku, kienu jintilfu. Fil-fatt, għadni naħdem fuqhom sal-lum.

Ridt nispiċċa nwaħħad il-kollezzjoni tal-istejjer tiegħi, biex inkun nista’ nissottomettiha għall-konkors nazzjonali, Il-Kliem Bħaċ-Cirasa. L-aħħar erba’ stejjer biss kien jonqosni. Kemm nagħżel liema ridt ninkludi mal-lesti. Ma kont għedt lil ħadd b’dan il-fellus li kelli f’moħħi. Id-deadline kien jumejn wara, u għalhekk kont determinata li jiġri x’jiġri, nlesti u nibgħathom.

B’ironija, u bi sfida, għażilt li nsemmi l-ktieb Frawla. U rbaħt!

If I’ve Told You Once…

http://31.222.137.81/articles/view/20100910/blogs/if-i-ve-told-you-once.326349

Don’t do that. Stop that. Enough. Stop. Put that book away or you’ll throw up. How naughty you are. Push back your hair. That’s not nice. Stop fidgeting. Hold your bag properly. Stop playing with your hair. Close your mouth when you chew. Stop picking your nose. Drink some water. Stop moving your legs. Stop making faces. That’s enough…

This litany went on and on, during a bus ride from Birkirkara to Buġibba. Alas, it was not a teacher with her summer school brood on an outing – it was a mother with just one child, obviously on their way to the beach. The parent gave the expression Maltese Gemgem a new lease of life. I wonder how much the girl enjoyed the visit to the beach, and whether she was wise enough to float her troubles away once she jumped into the sea.

Nagging and grumbling appear to be very popular – to the extent that some people would grumble if there were not anyone around to nag, and nag the speakers on the radio if there is no one at whom to grumble.

Some friends of mine – modern by other standards – still believe in the “broken record” method of communication. They even cite scripture about it, in that it is certain that a person will comply with your wishes if only to stop your staccato whinging, rather than because they really want to.

Some would think that social sites like Facebook have given mothers the world over a new type of ammunition – “this photo gets posted on my wall and yours if you don’t clean your room within the next hour”. Unfortunately, only a few children will cave in to this type of blackmail. Others will call their mothers’ bluff (she doesn’t want people to think she is a bad parent because she lets my room get to this state…) and others simply don’t care of the world find out they use the chairs for a wardrobe.

Nagging, most of the time, is a waste of energy – both for the nagger, and also for the person being nagged. The former will feel frustrated; the latter will feel resentful.

There are times when nagging actually has the effect opposite to the desired one. If a child has to learn discipline, it is useless for a parent to nag him to fulfil his duties, because once the nagging is not present, for any reason, he will revert to type.

Parents nag children to do their homework; they will never learn what the consequences of not doing it are, until it is too late to learn how to do it even if and when they do not feel like it, because it is their duty. Had they been left to their own devices, they would have suffered the penalty of turning up at school without homework – and then, this would have led them to decide whether an extra hour of Facebook was worth three hours of detention. This kind of lesson will get through even to children who pretend not to hear their parents’ nagging.

We nag because we have valid grievances. Yet it does not follow that the people whom we harry will be grateful; they will become defensive, angry and irritated. Nagging is disrespectful and negative and therefore, automatically unhealthy for the mind, heart, soul and body. It sours relationships.

Badgering our children to do what (we think) is right is not a clause in the job description for mothers – but discussion and compromise are.

It is irritating to hear a child sniffle; yet ordering him to stop will not stop his need to do so. It will, however, make him feel pestered, demeaned, and incapable of looking after himself. Wordlessly handing him a handkerchief would probably have encouraged him to use it. So would a polite request, and a non sequitur about how nice it was when the child did something nice for someone else without being asked, to divert him from the issue.

I know for a fact that some people like to nag to draw attention to themselves, or to their children, when there is an audience. In private, they may not even speak to the child unless absolutely necessary. Others nag because they feel safer when they consider themselves superior to others, or simply because as parents, they can throw their weight around and show who’s boss.

Nagging does not stop when our children know they will lose privileges if they do not toe our line. It stops when we decide we must stop harping persistently on the same points, and begin being positive instead.

Let’s all make a back-to-school resolution to stop nagging for a week, and see what happens.

50-word stories

Leaving

Fresh out of prison, I visited him. He offered me coffee, took out a soup spoon from the drawer, and spent five minutes rinsing it out under the hot tap, from the concave side. Scalding water splashed everywhere, but he didn’t notice. No wonder they call dementia ‘the long goodbye’.

……….

Job

Like clockwork, he’d get up at 6:00 AM and get ready for work. Immediately, the maid who knew her secret scurried into the room to help her choose her costume for the day. Then she, too, went to work. Imagine their surprise when their eyes met: a client, and a provider.

……….

Daughter

Just in case, she made sure the husband would want to have sex, making it look as if it was his idea. Her daughter looks exactly like her, save for her spaghetti hair and unusual grey-coloured eyes. Not for one moment does she regret her one and only ever, indiscretion.

……….

Orange(s)

All the food was orange: carrot soup, pumpkin pie, and orange juice. I didn’t like any of it, but I ate it because I had been taught that when you are a guest you must show appreciation of whatever you are given. I’m not going to like life on Mars.

……….

Tall Tales

Statues don’t normally speak. But this cold November night was not just any occasion. Their owner had been murdered, and they were not ready to let the perpetrator get away with it. Each time an officer at the crime scene came near one of them, they said “Thomas did it!”

……….

Hermit

As a teenager, I wanted to become a Saint. I braided my long hair, and wore itchy sackcloth gowns, embroidered with religious symbols. I was banished to the garden shed, with no running water or electricity. I murdered the family, hid their bodies, and moved back into my rightful abode.

……….

Actress

Sheila’s wig of long, sleek, black hair, screamed for nails painted to match. A flowery top and designer jeans completed her ensemble. Sashaying into the theatre foyer, she flashed a fake press-card at the Guard, and went backstage. Her husband and the diva saw the gun a millisecond too late. 

……….

Charity

It is not often that people pay good money for something relatively trivial. I was pleasantly surprised that the guests at the fund-raiser gave hefty donations for my jewellery designs. Truly, at the time I was more newbie than artiste. Their trust was well-founded, though. Today, they own collector’s items.

……….

Foresight

Much ado has been made of the fact that AI is used to generate homeworks, newspaper articles, and even whole books.  What many people do not know, is that Roald Dahl came up with the idea years ago. The machine with which I wrote this is called the Automatic Grammatizator.

……….

Marriage

She was sure her husband was having an affair, and she was curious about who his mistress was. He always deleted his phone and laptop histories; she had to operate otherwise. She enjoined her network of ‘spies’; actually, her coterie of old school-mates, to stalk him. It was his ex-wife.

……….

Magic

Green and blue make teal. But heredity does not explain how I got that weird eye-colour in just one eye, not both. Neither of my parents had brown eyes, and yet, my right eye was brown. It is this eye that has x-ray vision; the teal eye sees the future.

……….

Duty

It’s one of those dreary days that make you want to tuck yourself ever deeper under the bedding. But you cannot do that, because today is the day that your baby will be born. This child is destined to be one of the humans who will seed the new planet.

……….

Weather

In the spring, all of Nature wakes up to fill the Earth with colour. In a world where there are no seasons, snow in the Sahara is a rare event, and sandstorms in an arctic wasteland would mean that the world has turned on its axis; as it has, today.

……….

Prescription

Anne looks exactly like her maternal grandma, down to the purple wine-stain birthmark on the inner side of her left forearm. She can speak five languages fluently, and she can sew, knit, and crochet. She’s a fantastic cook. It is a question of genetics. She is a genetically modified clone.

……….

Target

He began addressing me by names that were not mine, and then made ludicrous jokes about this.  I trailed him. He was meeting a series of leggy blondes at expensive places. Despite photographic evidence to the contrary, he said they were all reps for pharmaceutical companies. So I shot him.

……….