To a Rose de Sable

The little Jeannette came from far away
Her sharped puzzled eyes, asking in a worried way
" Is there any little place for me to satisfy my thirst to learn?"
Or did I obtain my freedom in vain ?

English, French, Arabic dialogue in my head
Israel, Palestine, France, and You, Canada !
From the convent to marriage, from war to celebration
I often ask myself: "Who am I and what does this all mean?"

To know and discover Love, to learn and then to fall silent
To play the guitar and compose poems
To think, write, Live at last, to dare to do things!
No longer to be dominated, but only to experience inner peace!

She advances; she searches; she waits; she hopes·
Winters are too cold; the sky is not always blue
She had to leave her country and her native land
But her everlasting hope makes her beautiful eyes shine forever!

Composed by: Prof. M.L.S.
Ottawa University in 1984
Translated by: Jeannette Kheil-Tittley
February 4, 2002

Small Instruments Bring Results Too·