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22 roundabouts

(Vol. 2 of Desert Poems)

by Carmela

Also by the same author:

“haiku in manila”

“A dinar for my Spanish guitar” (Vol. 1)

for

Marvin S. Co

Acknowledgments

Melissa Van Maasdyk

for boosting my confidence. You are such a charming soul --- inside and out --- Melissa;

Arthur D’Souza

for the compliments on the publication of “22 roundabouts” the first time I spoke with you on the phone;

Abdul Aziz Noor

for never losing your temper at me (You will live a long life, Sir.);

Abdul Raziq

I never forget the day you sang to me in your language. It was a beautiful moment --- a perfect description of the promised land: Canaan;

Ahmed Ali Al Emadi

for the refined and ideal conversations I had had with you about life in general;

Ali Hussain Ali

for the thousand notes that you gave me on my birthday;

Cresencio Mabunga, Jr.

for the pickled fruits and vegetables, the guitars, and for taking good care of my sister Rose in the desert;

Deonna Kelli Sayed, Nahid Sultana, Shahzaman Shams and Barbara Engel-Kooheji

for the Saturday meetings --- especially Barbara, for the rides from Manama to Zahr;

Dr. Khalid, Tata, Menatallah and Abdullah Salah Albaz

for the friendship that erased the outlines of our nationalities;

Essam Adel Al Nashar

I remember you because of your wholehearted laughter sprinkled with pain;

Fouad Shoukri

for the Moroccan music;

Gemma Grace Lorenzo

for the groovy desert tour. There has never been a down-moment with you;

Hassan Moosa Al Qassab

for the wholesome friendship;

Khalid Alzayani

for the conversations on “bricks on walls” and Einstein. You taught me how to respect time;

Khan

for the patience as my transport in the desert. You have the heart of a musician;

Josefino “Jong” Ortiz

for a glimpse of the aesthetic appeal of the empty quarter;

Messy

I had lovely moments of gabs with you over cups of Ethiopian coffee;

Rajina and Shanavas Kassim Basheer

my dear friends;

Rebecca Argay

for being forbearing. You saw how hollow I was;

Rosella Labitoria-Mabunga

for encoding all of my desert poems because you were bored and had nothing to do that time --- you are very much loved, sis;

Suphawadee Srinakhon

for the heartfelt talks on childhood memories;

and to all who have lived with me in the desert, literally or metaphorically,

thank you for having inspired me to write these poems.

Hazel Joy Tottoc, for the readings,

and

Josefina Ortiz-Timbol, for the constant cheering.

Contents

Dedication 1

Acknowledgments 2

The 1^st roundabout 9

22 roundabouts 10

A roundabout well 12

The 2^nd roundabout 13

Tylos tomb 14

The heart of Gulf 15

Kingdom borders 16

Pomegranate 18

The 3^rd roundabout 19

Fishing 20

The way you cross the road 21

3,250 crosses 22

My brook 23

Fishes in the desert 24

The 4^th roundabout 25

My eyes are becoming brown 26

Golden brown 27

The 5^th roundabout 28

Hungry 29

Biryani and tikka 30

For how long? 31

The 6^th roundabout 32

I lost my sweetheart in the desert 33

Genie in the city 34

The 7^th roundabout 36

Good morning 37

Sahra 38

Looking through the door’s window 39

Exam time 40

Mirador 41

The 8^th roundabout 42

Majestically sweet and lonely 43

Sunnat al hayat 44