The Question of Suffering - Nahida Izzat

And like a tender mother's hand stroking her child
Like a soft warm blanket in a cold winter night
Like gentle rain drops drizzling over a parched piece of land
Like a rainbow flowing piercing through thick dark clouds
I feel God's loving hand
Then…
Then this sweet… sweet comfort that overwhelms you, embraces you as you humbly say:
Here I am God… exhausted… come to my aid
Here I am God… in much anguish… relieve me… ease my pain
Here I am God… full of sorrow… soothe my hurt
Here I am God… lonely… be my friend and companion.
Here I am God… tiered… help me…hold me… heal me
Here I am God… lost… guide me… show me the way
That distressed soul… that troubled heart would be magically transformed…

Calm would descend… tranquillity and serenity would prevail… joy would overwhelm… and sweet… sweet comfort would embrace you.

You feel helped... held… healed… and carried through.
Even if the pain is still there!

There are no words in any human dictionary or vocabulary that could come near into describing that feeling, all we can do is give analogies.

Never the real feelings

Then with time; and in retrospect the wisdom of what you've been through will become more apparent.

Like pieces of a jigsaw your life would start making sense; some of the pieces might be very murky and horrible, others might be bright and colourful, each piece
alone does not make any sense; yet as they assemble together a beautiful pattern emerges, an amazing picture materializes.

Such was my life.
Such is life

Nahida Izzat, is a -Jerusalem born- Palestinian refugee living in exile for over 40 years. She was forced to leave my homeland, Palestine at the age of seven during the six-day war. Nahida, is a mathematician by profession but art is one of her favourite pastimes. Please visit her website PoetryforPalestine - http://poetryforpalestine.spaces.live.com/default.aspx