Penn State Harrisburg Global Ambassadors Program hosted its second annual World Poetry Recital Luncheon today, Thursday, April 5, 11:30-1, in W107 (Gallery Lounge), Olmsted. Our Global Ambassadors, Amany Mansor & Sampson Yuan, hosted the World Poetry 2018. As many as seventeen poems were recited in fourteen different languages (Afrikaans, Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Hebrew, Hindi, Kinyarwanda, Korean, Malay, Spanish, Turkish, Urdu, and Yoruba) from various countries by our students, faculty and staff. We posted the following three poems that were crafted by our presenters. They are “Poem about Optimism in Life” (Written in both Arabic and English) by Mariham Beshay (Our Egyptian American student), “Longing For Home” by Hannany Salehuddin (our Malaysian Global Ambassador), and “Dream Keeper” by Angela Larks (our administrative support for the Chancellor’s Office).

Poem about Optimism in Life, by Mariham Beshay

Longing For Home

by Hannany Salehuddin

Looking at the hills,

I find myself longing

for the mountains back home

that curve the earth so beautifully.

Looking at the pale winter sky,

I find myself yearning for that warm, familiar ray of sun

that I can be close enough to touch it

and feel the sun warming my bones.

Looking at the dried winter trees,

I find myself longing

for the dense jungle standing gallantly

against the menaces of time.

 

Looking at the people around me,

I find myself wanting to return

to the friendly chinese coffee shop owner down the street

or the chatty malay fishmonger in the evening market

or the old indian neighbourhood bus driver

To return to a place where we live bagai aur dengan tebing,

like shoots of bamboo by the streams;

peaceful and ever so harmonious.

Though I am far away from home,

I know I must be like the Chengal trees in the rainforests.

Like its branches reaching for the sky,

I shall roam the places I have never been before

and let myself grow

with all the sights and wonders my eyes will see.

 

Like its roots deep in the ground,

I shall uphold my culture,

tak lapuk dek hujan, tak lekang dek panas,

let it never be ruined by rain nor shine,

instead let my culture be known

like the pride carried by The Kinabalu Mountain.

Alas, let it be known

how badly I miss Malaysia,

the place that I will forever call home.

 

Dream Keeper, by Angela Larks

Here I go again, another night, I’m buckled in tight
Where will this dream take me tonight!
Someone is chasing me, it’s him again
The man in the black coat, but no face, is reaching for me
I’m running fast but I’m losing the race
Someone wake me, I’m screaming can’t you hear me
Wake me, shake me, take my hand and help me flee

Dreams can be lonely, scary, and take you to unknown places
When I was young I dreamt of a bright future, no sickness, no war, no poverty
No hungry babies, no sad faces
I dreamt of flowers without the rain
Success but without hard work
Even though it’s stated, “No pain, no gain!”
Life not death, love that never hates
Forever young never old
Perky and tight and without folds

Dreams that seem so vague so far, so wide
Another place and another time, why is this taking up so much space in my mind
At night when I close my eyes my future and my past collide
Last night I dreamt of a place and time so long ago
The past is my future but the future is my past
It’s all jumbled up, mixed up, tied up, no flow
Another time, another place, perhaps another person, really was that me…looking back through a window and seeing who I used to be?
Or perhaps looking through that same window at what the future holds
The past is my future but the future is my past
Falling, falling into an abyss, someone catch me, someone wake me
Pull me back from this cold, dark, confusing space

Good morning Sunshine, I welcome you into this place
And darkness, dream keeper like no other, until we meet again
Hold safe my dreams, I know you can and I know you will
I can count on you just like a dear friend
But for now dreams, hush and be still!