Amazing Peace: A Christmas Poem

By Dr. Maya Angelou

Thunder rumbles in the mountain passes
And lightning rattles the eaves of our houses.
Flood waters await us in our avenues.

Snow falls upon snow, falls upon snow to avalanche
Over unprotected villages.
The sky slips low and grey and threatening.

We question ourselves.
What have we done to so affront nature?
We worry God.
Are you there? Are you there really?
Does the covenant you made with us still hold?

Into this climate of fear and apprehension, Christmas enters,
Streaming lights of joy, ringing bells of hope
And singing carols of forgiveness high up in the bright air.
The world is encouraged to come away from rancor,
Come the way of friendship.

It is the Glad Season.
Thunder ebbs to silence and lightning sleeps quietly in the corner.
Flood waters recede into memory.
Snow becomes a yielding cushion to aid us
As we make our way to higher ground.

Hope is born again in the faces of children
It rides on the shoulders of our aged as they walk into their sunsets.
Hope spreads around the earth. Brightening all things,
Even hate which crouches breeding in dark corridors.

In our joy, we think we hear a whisper.
At first it is too soft. Then only half heard.
We listen carefully as it gathers strength.
We hear a sweetness.
The word is Peace.
It is loud now. It is louder.
Louder than the explosion of bombs.

We tremble at the sound. We are thrilled by its presence.
It is what we have hungered for.
Not just the absence of war. But, true Peace.
A harmony of spirit, a comfort of courtesies.
Security for our beloveds and their beloveds.

We clap hands and welcome the Peace of Christmas.
We beckon this good season to wait a while with us.
We, Baptist and Buddhist, Methodist and Muslim, say come.
Peace.
Come and fill us and our world with your majesty.
We, the Jew and the Jainist, the Catholic and the Confucian,
Implore you, to stay a while with us.
So we may learn by your shimmering light
How to look beyond complexion and see community.

It is Christmas time, a halting of hate time.

On this platform of peace, we can create a language
To translate ourselves to ourselves and to each other.

At this Holy Instant, we celebrate the Birth of Jesus Christ
Into the great religions of the world.
We jubilate the precious advent of trust.
We shout with glorious tongues at the coming of hope.
All the earth's tribes loosen their voices
To celebrate the promise of Peace.

We, Angels and Mortal's, Believers and Non-Believers,
Look heavenward and speak the word aloud.
Peace. We look at our world and speak the word aloud.
Peace. We look at each other, then into ourselves
And we say without shyness or apology or hesitation.

Peace, My Brother.
Peace, My Sister.
Peace, My Soul.

transitory – NOT a business article

Dubai is THE global logistics hub.

Because raw materials, manufacturing and production of goods are now all basically done in the Far East, particularly in China, the need for a link in the global supply chain is inevitable.

And because of its strategic location, Middle East is it.

Its greater region includes, Sub Continent India, Africa, South East Asia, and the many states of CIS, among others.

Why Dubai?

Its government is wise.

Free Zones proliferate the city like mushrooms.

A free zone is where a company can put up business with 100 per cent exemption charges on corporate tax, import and export tax, personal income tax and commercial levies. Apart from these tax incentives, operating within a free zone means 100 per cent foreign company ownership and 100 per cent repatriation of capital and profits.

Nice, no?

The most popular of free zones are those that deal with cargo, like Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority, Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority and the most-anticipated, Dubai World Central.

These are airports and seaports.

Remember those goods from China?

They are transported here, in Dubai, where there are companies within the free zones that take care of the warehousing, packing, kitting, and ultimately the distribution process of the products to the global market, including Europe and some parts of the US.

And because of the qualities of a free zone, there’s a substantial reduction in cost for businesses, as movement of goods is made more convenient, easier and faster.

And we’re just talking about cargo here.

What about manpower?

There’s a particular free zone for every kind of business imaginable.

Media City (media companies), Internet City (computer and the like), Knowledge Village (universities and colleges), Dubai Outsource Zone (call centers and such), etc etc.

So, imagine the flock of people around the world going here for employment.

And Dubai as a tourist spot is not so bad, too.

The beaches are incredible. The hotels are superb.

Clubs are awesome.

And the SHOPPING.

Now don’t get me started on that one.

I’m just saying European and Chinese businessmen are on a ‘free-trade’ agreement with the UAE government.

So, hello clothes, shoes, accessories everywhere.

Have you heard of Dubai Shopping Festival?

Slashed prices up to 70 per cent off on designer brands.

Enough said.

So, really, this city is ALIVE, man.

Everyone wants to be here.

But as much as everyone IS here, no one really ever is, ultimately.

Dubai is a breathing, throbbing business hub.

But the key value proposition of a hub is a pass-through business.

And because the supply chain demand is ever changing, which is the driving force of businesses here in Dubai, everything else is transient.

So when a Syrian guy asks you out on a date and together you spend wonderful times being ‘so different, yet so alike’ – put through your thick head that ‘this feeling’ is transitory.

And after spending amazing walks along the beach, romantic dates and endless talks, he will soon realize that ‘you’re a strong, smart woman who has her goals straight and her direction set.’

Sure, he ‘likes you so much.’

But his family expects him to marry ‘only an Arab woman.’

Transitory. Transient. Temporary.

Say it like a chant in your head.

No wonder house and car mortgages here are really affordable but leases are ridiculously high.

Everyone just passes through.

No one really stays.

Long-term investments are not wise.

Especially those that are emotions-related.

So, smile, shrug, and thank God he’s decent enough to have knocked some sense into your head early on in the ‘relationship.’

Shukran, habibi, hod balak.

And goodbye.

Because, see, Dubai is a transit.

And ‘you and me,’ like everything else, is transitory.