letters letters to individuals to
feelings to the world so my first letter
is inspired by a walk I took not too
long ago
of course the edge of a little village
in Pakistan where a woman well she was
treated worse than what an animal should
be treated like so it’s called deer some
men by the way there’s a strong emphasis
on some so deer some men maybe you want
to look at us
so look see what a woman looks like
maybe you’ve never seen one before maybe
the poison in your hormonal mind has
blinded you with the tales and images
you’ve been addicted to since an age to
vulnerable to pain maybe you want to
touch us so touch but after we open the
doors with the keys of the words from
our mouth and not by the breath of your
hunger we are not the afternoon snack or
the buffet you’ve spent nights fasting
for we a woman skin and nerves eyes that
whispered tales of how we cross bridges
you wouldn’t dare step on mines to tea
to explore by those swimming and the
shallow end brings that pond paintings
of comfort and care tissues that form
beds for the babies you will one day
hold we are curves curves made with the
sink that have written stories about how
weakness was never our currency we are
not made for your apologies or your
excuses we are not the books that you
can skim read till the good part we our
woman maybe you want to touch
maybe you want to love us still love but
giving love is not the same thing as
loving loving is when the oceans follows
you within the skies oceans so blue
sapphires look great and all the waves
dance in this pattern so unique physics
would get jealous
and the window wind has this beautiful
scent of vanilla and honey and hope and
kindness maybe you want to hold us so
hope but not the way you held your
weekend job where you got fired for
manipulating our words for the social
mast a travel approval by your ego we
are not the collateral damage waiting to
happen because of the war
you haven’t within yourself our history
may have placed us beneath the household
roof but we were never the damsel in
distress we are both the fire and the
water and the flavor your taste depends
on how you treat us we have both the
strong and the soft the late night
shower singers loving fingers warm
winters we are the air to share your
stories with the eyes to share you the
heart to share the world with for we a
my next letter is to love so does anyone
here believe in love at first sight a
one-two okay yes so imagine you’re at
the station and take your eyes click
click like the sound of the hoof of a
horse’s that clicks against the ground
click the horse is racing racing as it
shines so bright so bright you forgot it
was night and now everything’s alright
your heart your heart can’t take it take
his heart your heart beat in perfect
harmony has your mind spin with Justin
spin as you’re warmed and I majestical
microwave but the timer is ticking
I love little burn inside if it’s left
any longer
take I love is burning burning with
smoke that shapes a perfect heart in the
sky a cloud a cloud so wide the moon a
jealous jealous hasn’t made the perfect
crescent across your face tick the
Crescent your smile your eyes your
pupils are swallowing me into a black
hole into a parallel universe why the
state of Cleveland Norman licks lakes of
golden sand below your feet so shiny
your reflection showed mine and all the
sound each particle plays perfectly
between my toes as I think sinks just a
little not too much but just a little
because that’s how your love warm me
warm me with shivers off my back shivers
that sweet and perfect harmony with the
ocean and then I felt it this breeze
that touched the edges of my body and
whispered secrets to my soul this breeze
that whispered your name yet
I didn’t know your name but that’s how
much I thought you your silence name
don’t gracefully with the wind take your
faith the perfect piece of art each
paint brush stroke carved into a perfect
report made by the attic way of your
perfect attack it’s burning then I heard
it that silent sound played amongst the
noise history that’s soundless song that
I loved it and like that that sound when
the doors of the train closed how you
could have made the train but you did in
the warden giving you that sorry look
blaming you for the time you took well
that’s the sound that I just heard only
there won’t be another sound another
train because I left it too late
tick the horse lost
tick the clay broke take the trains gone
and the last letter is a letter to the
world it’s how the world made me feel
when I dive too deep and it’s
consumeristic materialistic society it’s
called dear dunya in Arabic which means
world so dear Dania the truth is you
didn’t even give me a drop when I was in
the desert begging pleading mistreating
bleeding for your love I craved you my
actions became your slave I changed my
image for you I changed my opinions for
you I even became distant from him for
you but you you became my biggest thief
taking me away from the breath of relief
covering my heart with the sound of
voices first you took my eyes and
scarred them with your images then you
took my thoughts and molded them into
until I was scared to abide by them by
myself you made me fall in love with
lust and everything the devil loves to
disgust you made me blind to what was
unjust until my sons became addicted to
emptiness I just but I guess it’s easy
to blame you isn’t it a constant state
of denial well that’s what the
psychologists call it for you didn’t
make me blind I gave my eyes for you to
bleed you didn’t give me desires I
filled my heart with greed you didn’t
even look and I ran to you in speed I
came to the creation instead of the
Creator please
guilt an emotion I never knew was such a
blessing that would help you end to all
distressing and help me stop this while
you’re obsessing and help me start
expressing what I was repressing
of you killed wanted what I needed God
so I called him to him deep in the last
third of the night when darkness becomes
the enemy of light and my whisperer
started to recite words he sent a while
ago worst I took my forehead to the
ground God’s love his love fell like a
never-ending stream of ripples that
stemmed from the center of my forehead
until the ends of my fingers and toes
repose that took me to a parallel
universe where the state of greed the
norm and the edges of the waves touch
the edges of the trees and there’s
staring right back at me
the horizon red orange yellow then I
felt this breeze that went through every
cell in my body and whispered secrets to
my soul this breeze that told me it’s
not a bottle looks our desires of
impressing others it’s not about pride
or ego or having the most it’s about
your intentions and who they’re intended
for it’s about your heart and who it’s
beating for and most importantly it’s
about your soul and who is living for
one prayer it only took one prayer and
he came running he listened with all the
silence in the world he forgave in a way
I didn’t deserve I asked for a drop and
he gave me the oceans I asked for
forgiveness and he gave me rewards I
asked for love and I found out he was
loving me even before I was born so
never again dunya will I be a slave of
your worldly desires for this temporary
love lives real of so much drier but he
god lifts all the good higher from the
night the knife at dunya has to not
overfill I heard he has another working
as a burner oh allah grant is good in
this world and getting the next and save
us from the torment of the fire amen
thank you so to end off I just want to
inspire you to write letters to your
friends to your family to your mother to
your daughter to the world because every
single letter is an idea worth sharing
have a lovely day thank you [Applause]