Haibun

                     A NEIGHBORHOOD PARTY

Five o'clock on a balmy afternoon in late summer.  A party at the neighbor's.  A Jordanian family with dozens of relatives, all present to celebrate a young man's completion of his medical training.

                     a pink and blue sky-

                     the early evening vibrates
                     with a tublah drum *

Exotic odors wafting throughout the garden.  Between eating, there is much talk in Arabic and English and joyous music.

                       a murmuring wind -

                       the ululations of women
                       in the night

We are welcomed into this close family, encouraged to eat, drink, dance.  At one end of the garden, rock and roll; at the other end, a belly dancer.

                        the moon's half light-

                        bejeweled hands twist and turn
                        beckoning

*tublah drum:  a Arab drum similar to a bongo
Stylus Poetry Journal, Dec. 2005