From BALCONIES: A MEDITERRANEAN MEMOIR
by Mishka Mojabber Mourani

To Theia Dora in Greece

In the company of women,
Mothers and sisters all,
I learned to work a hook
To knit the past with no. 4 needles
To needle-point my reality.

In the company of women,
We spun our yarn
To the rhythm of stories
Weaving our perceptions
Into our truths
With brightly colored threads.

In the company of women
We fashioned the notions
Of our silk and linen history
With the cross stitch patterns
Of our ergo-cheiro,
Our hands’ work.

Laughter erupting
Gossip shared
Tears wiped away
Wisdom passed on
While the needles worked.

In the company of women,
Stories were told and retold
Were made myth by retelling.
Women in the warm afternoon
Weaving the woof and warp
Of who we are.

The skills of family
Passed on by deed and word,
In the company of women.

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Read it in Arabic as translated by Aida Y.Haddad