Esraa Saleh Egyptian poetess and actress.
I am Esraa Saleh. I was born in 1988 in Cairo, Egypt, to a Sudanese mum and an Egyptian father.
I started to write poems and short stories since I was 8 years old. I haven’t published any books yet, but I have written over 500 poems. A song was sang in a famous show performed in one of the most important theaters that was written by me called Aheh.
I am working as an actress in Hala theater group.
I adore traveling. My experience to attend the 2nd International Forum of Young Poetesses was a great chance to meet those young ladies there and to taste their culture through their words, it flied me over their world.
Dreams
Once ago we were walking across the Nile, swinging and eating goodies throwing it’s papers ahead, we were in the lovers boat, you have tried to hold my hand, I gazed at you with my eyes, it was noon time, it was our first trial although I wished to hold it tightly forever, when you proposed promises came through I promised you to keep your smile and you promised me to be my happiness.
Our dreams, later on, were a mirage, I promised you to come home tired yet you will find your meals, but nothing is left than crumbs, our kids are more important than us they need honey hence, I sat on my knees, I took your shoes off, but their sticky smell kills me, my dream was to hold me closely and to travel through your hold to see the whole world and taste it in our kiss, winking for my happiness, I wish I could see the whole world through you, hence our dreams are still our mirage baby, your belly is growing your hair is going and I am fat, but even if days has changed your image I will always see you as my dream.
Happiness
What is the absolute happiness? is it the whisky shots or our sugary coffee?
How does it taste? like cigarettes or the plain pleasure.
How much it values? the scale’s hand or our smile for a passing moment while our tears are repeated it our prayers mat? or the ringing bells or our tight fingers wiping our tears? or the school punishment and facing the wall after our first kiss.
Is it our happiness for being the match or it’s a wrapped answer for all of those incidents together? it’s an opposite word, when we feel happy, others felt sad and that is the real meaning of happiness.
Waiting
While I am chilled I am feeling the warmness of my new year wishes.
I saw myself as if I am still a baby in my shower, the sound of music was reading my future.
My grandma’s voice and daddy’s songs are promising my days that I am the one, they were knocking on the bottles jingling on the bottles and our school break time our first sight that captured me.
Mum used to make the hope and love sandwiches hugging me with her eyes and telling me that sadness is the most ridiculous feeling ever, she was preparing all my hopes in a loaf of bread, she was hanging all her thoughts on my braids, my dreams ceiling is a bit shorter and shorter it’s an obstacle for my dreaming boat, I have found drawings on my papers and a geometrical shape; circle but it’s origin was a wheel and I was whirling I kept on whirling I was thinking about my past.
My life passed happily although my heart was crying a lot and the picture was framing the rhyme echo, while I am dancing and dancing again and again more and more, till the cold itself will feel the warmness, while I am still passionate in my waiting area for the next years.
Mariam stories - storytelling show, Photo: Hussein Abd Al-Wahed
