The mirror & I feel it in my heart

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Miriam Petra Ómarsdóttir Awad
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The mirror & I feel it in my heart

by Miriam Petra Ómarsdóttir Awad

The mirror

					here and there
					here and there 
				here			here
				here			here
				here			here
				here			here
				some			time
				also			there
				here	    		here
				here     I am	        here
				here 	     		here 
				here	     		here 
				here 			here 
				here 			here 
				here 			here 
				here 			here 
				here 			here 
				here 			here 
                                       there and here
				       there and here
					        
				  I often find it difficult 
			         to look at my reflection 
                        because no one here looks like me

I feel it in my heart

I love you
like I love how we say صباح الفل
with the intense calmness
of the early morning hours
I love you like
the sounds of the pigeons cooing outside the laundry room
where my aunt washes clothes
once she put a little too much
chlorine so the butterflies on my t-shirt
almost disappeared
better than new
better than anything
I wish I could give you
all the sweet words in Arabic
even though I lost the tongue
just know there is always that part
of my love to you
that only exists in another
language and I cannot express it
just feel it

Shirin Abedinirad, Babel Tower, 2015. Interactive installation, Tehran, Iran. Created with interaction designer Guglielmo Torelli, the work reimagines the spiritual architecture of Babel through mirrors, light, and movement, recalling a time when humanity shared “one language” and lived “freely without boundaries.” Responding to audience interaction and shifting weather conditions, the installation gathers fragments of city, nature, and sky into a changing image of the world, transforming division into dialogue and longing into a vision of unity. Artwork courtesy of featured artist Shirin Abedinirad.

Author

Miriam Petra Ómarsdóttir Awad

Miriam Petra is from Reykjavík, Iceland but her roots lie in a small fishing village, Bíldudalur, in the Icelandic Westfjords on one side and in Cairo, Egypt on the other. Miriam writes poetry, short stories and occasionally op-eds for Icelandic newspapers and other media. She has a BA in French and a MA in Global Studies. Her thesis projects have focused on the effects of colonialism on literature and the effects of prejudice on self-identities. Outside of her regular office job she does workshops and presentations on prejudice in Iceland. In her free time she likes to write, draw or watercolour - and travel. 

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