The Ode
written by: Houda Laabadi
@Houdas_Crib
Of all the things in this universe,
Kindness and smiles are what keeps us alive.
There are a lot of things I am thankful for.
And I know this might sound crazy
But I’ve made a list.
I am thankful to the moon and the stars
For keeping me company at night,
When my mind is running through a field of endless thoughts.
You remind me of how beautiful and vast
The universe is.
To my best friends,
They’re few
But they’re enough.
Thank you.
For keeping me steady during the sea storm.
I am a boat and you are my anchor.
Your presence makes me want not to drift away from the world.
You make everything around me alive.
You see my faults, my weirdness
And you embrace them.
I am thankful to my parents,
For being the first people to put a book in my hands.
With one simple gesture,
They made a writer out of a lost child.
To my siblings,
Little sister, little brother,
I don’t say it enough,
Or maybe not at all,
Since all we ever do is endlessly bicker at each other,
But, thank you.
For proving that I wasn’t
The only crazy, weird soul in our family.
To my grandpa,
Thank you.
You, out of all people,
Taught me the importance of love.
I remember when I was a kid
You used to wait for me at the front door of your house
So you could offer me candy
And throw me high up in the air
As I laughed at your funny ears
And your tender smile.
The day they called us
At 7 in the morning to tell us you were gone,
A part of me went with you to the grave.
I don’t believe in afterlife,
But if I’m ever wrong,
I am sure about one thing:
You deserve the most beautiful one.
I am grateful to my third grade teacher
For believing in me.
For always encouraging me
To write more,
To read more,
To do more,
To be more.
To my first love,
Thank you for setting the first sparkle
To the fire in my heart.
Really.
I know, my infatuation with you was silly.
A kid’s game.
But to me,
You were a mystery that I wanted to unravel.
I hold my memories of you in a special place of my heart.
Because, more than anything,
You taught me that love was all about letting go.
I want to thank the sun and the sea and the forest
For being my companions
In those moments
Where I felt lost and miserable.
The sound of the waves
And of the wind singing through tree leaves
Is the most beautiful melody to my ears.
I am grateful for my weird and eccentric hobbies.
For, without them
I wouldn’t be whole.
They shaped me into the person I am today.
I am thankful to all the books I’ve read.
For teaching me that even the quietest of voices
Could speak up and be heard.
But most of all,
I want to thank words, poetry and art
For simply existing.
They are my personal super heroes
And my saviors.
Poetry is her way of communicating with the world, her first and, probably, last love. But she's not just that, she's also a proud, self-proclaimed nerd, who loves fantasy novels and ghost stories.
Above all, she's just a human being trying to live, surrounded by love, books, art and maybe a puppy or two.
- The Ode - February 21, 2017
- I Tried To Write The Perfect Love Story… - November 23, 2016
- Would You Come to Me for a While? - May 29, 2016
