‘Aslaama Noureddine Amari
Note: This is an archived site. All articles and sections were written for specific audiences, for particular purposes. Without the proper context, a given piece can be puzzling or off-putting. Please only read what is directly recommended to you. What’s below is UNEDITED. Here I play unsolicited jazz of a kind for a Tunisian calligraher/artist who I don’t know… trusting that he will catch the fire thrown his way, the beat… for the benefit of one and all. In effect, this is two things for me: One, an opportunity to jot down thoughts I don’t want to lose in the shuffle. Two, it’s a request for a rendezvous ASAP. [What's the difference between 'aslaama and marHaba beek?] I TRUST THAT IF ANYONE FROM THE TUNISIAN EMBASSY READS THIS THEY WILL UNDERSTAND THAT THE LYRICAL FORMAT MIGHT BE… MISLEADING. THIS IS CERTAINLY NOT AN IDEAL PIECE FOR THE EYES OF HIGH RANKING OFFICIALS CONNECTED TO TOURISM AND/OR INVESTMENT IN TUNISIA. And on that note, I pray that anyone in official quarters who comes across this article will communicate directly with me about anything that might be confusing or (seemingly) offensive. The title of my poem below is a case in point.
‘Aslaama Noureddine Amari
Dedicated to addressing the horror of a thousand and one stories such as what’s delineated at http://www.democracynow.org/2010/8/27/exclusivezeitoun_how_a_hero_in_n ew, and making this a better world… with the feeling of One Love.
by Richard Martin Oxman
“We’ve got a few ideas that would — for legitimate reasons — put Tunisia at the top of the news worldwide in a positive way for years to come.” — the author to his ten-year-old son
Perhaps an introduction is in order. I mean, Mr. Amari doesn’t even know me… and here I come on like gangbusters again… charging right out of the gate, as it were, with an unsolicited missive of sorts. Nutcase!? Oh, I do scare people away. But… there is an upside to my approach. That is, when I do come across the right person that person will know quite clearly WHO they are dealing with, my spirit will resonate. I fancy that, then, the vision in me will have a chance to breathe… and the attendant urgency honored.
For starters, a glance at Ox Eyes Tunisia’s Carthaginian Rose wouldn’t hurt.
Why I Would Want to Meet with Sakher al-Materi and His Family
While my neighbor Doug was learning how to drive a nail into wood
I was deep into woods of injustice
And whilst my carpenter friend tested grades of wood
and his partner painted for practice on lovely lattice
and their son planted lettuce in the garden
I was deep into the history of horror
Who did what to The People was my concern
Whilst Wendy learned sign language, polishing hindsights
As during my bedtime with books of alternative pine
None other than Everyone, it seems, cooked leafmeal in their ovens
Oh, they ate it all up, like mad munching termites
Gorging full of info, whatever was always served, built up
Vegetable, animal and mineral
And so they couldn’t know
Which way the wind shouldn’t blow
Like they’d drunk too much at each meal throughout their lives
Left with cat-owned tongues festooned with splinters
No desire to be free, have healthy, god-like fun
Now I am deep, deep deep into current events
Currents the carpenter, cook and grower grieve over like Hopkins’ Margaret
Would I had someone to talk to deeply, crossing my ingrained mortality
Not only God through a glass darkly
At the very very least
I want to implode with couscous
Congregating with jasmine
Whilst scorpions the size of lobsters
Impede and impale me
On a transverse of unfamiliar centipedes
Outside this desert transforming the world
Points for discussion (unrefined, unedited):
1. What I discovered working 24×8 with Americans.
2. Survival for my family… with connections to France and Italy.
3. Future for my children and loved ones.
4. Specific “option” for Marcel. A sense of community?
5. Justice in this world.
6. Peace in this world for Arabs, Muslims et al.
7. Dramatic increase in “tourism profit” for Tunisia
8. “Profit” (from several angles) for the people at http://www.pacificarabic.com/who_we_are.html
9. Improvement in healthy investment for Tunisia.
10. Water conservation advances for Tunisia… with other environmental pluses.
11. Touch up for Tunisia’s online presence.
12. Free ESL thoughout the country.
13. Singular Cultural Exchange programs initiated.
14. Realization of my personal literary/theatre ambitions.
15. Contribution to the general public health on various counts for Tunisians whilst honoring traditions, the past in general and official policies.
16. Establishment of a unique library for the public and tourists in Tunisia
Contact the author at 831-688-8038 in Aptos, CA at any hour. He doesn’t need any $$$ to make this whole shebang fly. [Pause.] Is it possible that the Gulf of Gabes can be spared the horrid momentum represented by The Catastrophe in the Gulf (?)… where Jambalaya’s now effectively… dead.
