The Serpent's Tale- A Monologue
A Critique
I could never forget the day I ended up running bare foot with only socks on in the office of student affairs (OSA) at the University of Balamand. Running from one office like a mad girl to the other encouraged my friends and sincere employees to aid me in getting ready for the big show! My friends split the tasks between them and the preparation began. While some sat there as judges on “Project Runway” criticizing my the dresses I tried on, others played the role of my makeup artists in a desperate attempt to stop me from looking like a clown after a frantic run and rocketing stress levels. My friends were the support I shared my huge burden with, for they made sure that the seductress was born. I practiced my monologue on my way to the studio; I spoke to myself like a lunatic. I simply ignored the giggles and astonished faces that passed me by as I repeated my lines and eagerly wanted to reach my court, my judgment, the humble studio. The studio was full of my fellow classmates. Some were frantic as I were repeating their line to the brick wall, while others seemed relaxed as they shared a conversation on how they performed. I ignored the hustle and the bustle for I always adored being caught up in the little world I created for myself. I simply crawled back to my shell for I was a vulnerable crab. “You were never seductive” I told myself. You are a teaser, yet never a seductive female. Remember how red you turn when someone compliments you? All your practice was futile; you are doomed to fail. I struggled to cast out the pessimistic thoughts from my head as I abandoned the forlorn hallway and set my eyes on the bright room on my left. I poked my head through the door and there I saw the magical process take place. Three cameras were set and one classmate took control of a camera. They seemed focused as if the performer’s life depended on their perseverance. As the actress finished her show I entered the room while applauses roared in the hallway and control room. The atmosphere was hyped, full of energy, and positivity, and there I was standing all frail. “You acted on stage before, why so fearful then?” I questioned myself yet I never managed to answer. I headed towards the empty classroom, on my way I couldn’t help noticing my friends’ glare at my bare feet in the dirty socks. In the classroom I ripped my hair, I screamed, and I said my lines yet it was useless. I was drowning my character with speculations. All seemed bleak until a hand snatched me out of my mirage. It was my friend Stephenie with her calming words and relaxation techniques that brought me back to my sense. After I finished the routine serenity rushed through my veins and I was ready! My name was called upon and as I headed towards the illuminated room myself summoned me “I beg you do not fail me, for no reason shall we crumble”. I entered the room and stood under two lights, one red the other blue, directed towards me. I bowed my head, clutched my hands together, stood all poised and for the first time face the camera. A journey has just begun as the start signal unleashed the serpent. I forgot my friends, my teacher, and my fears. It was just me and my invisible lover. Nothing can distract me, not the voice of the director in my friend’s ear, not the light that struck my eyes, not the heat. Focus, it was all related to focus! Medusa flourished as I spoke to my lover, she seduced, she ached, she raged, and she loved. The little voices in my head were silent as they accompanied me throughout the journey. It’s just me and you dearest camera, you there standing still recording one of the most daring yet embarrassing moments of my life. All went well until I almost forgot my lines. What saved me was actually Medusa’s token, the one she spoke of thoroughly. It was my inner seducer that snatched me away from error. I didn’t need Medusa to tell me that I have to lure my victim and kill him in the end. I closed my eyes as I felt victorious as I won over the resistance of that poor man. I felt peace and quiet. Applause brought this serenity to an end as I realized I’m back in the humble studio among my fellow friends. At that moment I realized I was shaking and euphoric. The little voices spoke to me and said: Well done child well done!
Lucifer
Sweetest grapes have gone bitter.
Bloody red wine has gone vile.
You scope the horizon with a firm stare
From between the silence blast a voice in remorse and starts to wail... but your ears are the only reciever.
Lucifer is near he escaped the flames You could sense his figure all around you...
You shiver from disgust Your skin crawls since your eyes are his only viewer
The winds moving across sense the greatest change
The terrifying change of heart...
The change in you!
You came across this valley with a voice screaming to be set free from the clutches of Satan whom took over your existance
You touched the grapes they turned bitter
You reached for the wine it turned vile
Because you sold yourself to the Demon you revived!
A School Day...
I envy the winds for she is the rampant mustang
The meadow gleamed emerald green under the rays sent by Apollo
The aroma played gracefully with the green, ruffling the grass & caressing the leaves
The sound of churches ahead added beats to this lullaby in this summer heat
Life blazed from between the trees and I felt I was in a trance
But as I sang and danced horror caught by the hand and brought me back home
As I was on the highway to hell I looked back at the meadow yearning to go back to thee
For there I left Hypnos, the god of sleep
Horror took me to the rush and monstrous books sitting there infront of my face!
I was bought back to the disgusting urban world
Away from the peace, the dreams
Simply back to the quick pace!
(Written in 11th grade- around April)
My Passion
And thus I stand with guilt wrapping me like a cloak
My Manner, My Behavior were wild with disgust
My shock, My Bewildered eyes pushed me across a peice of paper and here shall a sinner scribble her final words...
Her last silent verbs for the words shall be the prophets
It punished my soul, It struck my temple with Devine vengeance. Curse you! You satanic newborn for thee has weakened my shanks!
It ground my bones till i memory i was only left. I confess to every drop of ink my dark treasure.
I have befriended Lust, My lover i have spent my last breath calling upon you ...My true passion ... I have betrayed thee
I scribbled each letter with regret strangling me ,for numb is the least of what i have become.
For the curse raped my pumping blaze ...My dearest blaze why so dim and frail?
Behold across nowhere lurks my heart forlorn... For icy winters gave us a visit after your flight
My beloved I shall deny my fear not
My Dearest I’m Petrified yet shadows and darkness are my power and shall not make me quiver
Not the peaceful flame of wax that makes me a fetus... Nay! Not those I hissed
My Half, I fear the sun...It's murders me
It's the light that turns me to stone
My Passion, I shuddered at the thought of wandering in the fields of Lilly in the spring with a new essence... One I’m not familiar with
Wandering... Alone! With your aroma nowhere to be found
I go mad as the thought of tasting desire with a breeze I’m not familiar with
I have betrayed thee... I lost our token
I was inflicted with pain...injury... cruelness, all to punish my desire
For I forced it to peek out from its borrow and unleash its devil... but in the scene you were not
For the camouflage was victory, as the actors aced their parts
As the director created the most gruesome lie of all time
The audience clapped as the odious lie was a beautiful bride
The play was spectacular
A play i have not survived
For my soul shall soar free calling upon you
My precious secret, my beloved thee.

Saif 840- Second Generation
I still remember the night I hit the stage of Casino Du Liban for the first time of my life. As an 11th grader I didn't know what to expect, yet the play that the 2nd generation of the rahbani family directed has indeed gained the word "spectacular". Saif 840 was brought to life agian after it was written by the late Mansour Rahbani. The play took place in Antelias where the Prince Bashir the 2nd was in control.
What amazed me about the play was the actor Ghassan Saliba where he aroused a patriot in each one of the viewers bringing us all back to the beautiful image Lebanon. His singing along side with the tunes lavished with the passion of seeking freedom that once united with the Lebanese nature of mountains and shores was manifested in his dancing and core voice. At that moment i could feel the depth of the force motivating the tormented hero. Also what made the play catch my attention was the fact that the decorations were simple yet the dialogue held deep meanings and ideologies a Lebanese that knows the long history of Lebanese struggle would definitely appreciate. In addition, the usage of the Lebanese vernacular and idioms gave a sense of humor, thus the writer of the play delivered his message in a vague manner. Other than the tunes that were close to the Lebanese hearer and the great actors that brought this play to life like Antione Kerbej and Hiba Tawaji. The dancing was all too catchy where the Dabke' was fundamental in each step. Finally, the social setting the late Mansour Rahbani created faced time and can be applicable to every struggle we face in our current political atmosphere in our current times.
Finally, as humble as my opinion would be to criticize such great work of art, I would say that the Rahbani family has yet again gained success in delivering a message
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http://www.wafamusic.com/Liban/ghassan-saliba/ghassan-saliba-258.htm
Hassan and Marcus ....Best movie i have watched yet
As a person that lived in a country that inhabits more than 14 sects i understand the deep roots where the religious conflict nests. Sadly People don't seem to realize that eventually Humans we all are and remdemption we all seek. Throw away the crust and look within the curtians to view the core. Both Islam and Christianity held the same core. The same God, the Same message, and the same preech. Young as i was , i got burned many times from ignorance and predjudice. The movie Hassan and Marcus was one of the best movies i have watched yet. The movie held a strong religious message where a Muslim Shiekh Mahmoud and a Christian Theologian Boulous swap lives to avoid religious extremits that threaten their lives. The roles were played by both Ahamad al Shrief and Adel al Imam, both huge and well recognized actor of the Eygptian and Middle East Cinema. Although the movie was attacked because it ends with a love story between the kids of the Shiekh and Theologian, i found in it the serenity i seek in my everyday life. In my opinion the movie must have been portraiyed with nothing less than what the director have provided because people must become aware of the religious swamp they live in. The actors have aced their performances realizng that they have implented roles that belong to religions they have not beared since birth. Adel al Imam and and Ahmad al Shrief have manifested a lot of thier personalites in the roles they have played. You can tell that each actor is tired of the extreme intolerance of igonrance and tyrany. The movie protrays how both religions bear hate for the other yet what was intresting to me is how the producer created the image of the two similar religions in habits and methods of living. Also, i believe the director was very cleaver in showing the viewer how both sides are very ignorant. The movie was light on my heart because it had a sense of innocent comdey, though the subject was a heavy burden.
References:
Sea Born
As I stand there in the winds, my hands said their vows to the son of the seas but all I could hear where the slopes calling upon me.
I followed the little voices back to the time I was human. I entered the other realm with no fright for I was the Shield.
A piece of parchment laying there behind the dust awaited me that night
Those words scribbled with hast, quaked my temple, that sight loomed in my mind
It Blow mustang winds in to my frail face… That Sentence…The sentence that never left my core
“My Blood, I have left these shores…On your own you are”
In the corner I collapsed …How shall you sail without the Reel?
For I was the ship and thee sailed me across the sirens lurking in the sea
Winds blew my rail… Crashed my barrels but my Captain said his prayers to the heavens above and Home we sought
Home… how I envy you
You held our secrets and I couldn’t reach out for a single word
For each scattered Letter Burnt and thus the wounds
I withdrew to my womb for there I shall wither in silence
No more voyages for me… Just an old stack of bones and memories I shall remain
My Sailor carried his cross and head back to the slopes
About me you ask? Well I wandered these shores with two dark eyes of glass and a shell that hid my face
I became a demon with broken wings… A look with no gleam… Words with no blaze
Sturdy as I remember myself I yearned to hit the salty waters of the deep
But I fell down and sand grains filled my eyes as the first drop of water dissolved my shanks
A crab I was holding on to the fairytale…
I cried to the moon and begged Celine for redemption
But the moon mocked me, imprisoning my ray of light… way beyond my reach
And thus one night words of terror I heard… The winds blowing from the slopes I questioned you… you dreadful messengers!
The words birthed the message that broke my shell and had me screeching for the olive trees
Pebbles blocked my way … holding me back from the steep sight I squealed to reach
I climbed the slopes with the crack of every broken limb
But thee must reach… My sailor was a shadow and thee must reach!
I crashed the cottage door and stumbled across the floor breaking my teeth
I’m almost here I uttered…I pulled my body on the wooden floor and called upon him
He lied there giving me soft plain looks of deafness
I grabbed on to the foot of the squeaky corroded bed and touched his finger tip
A warm breeze rushed through me as I was serenity …I was calmness
I opened my lids to view my sailor flutter out of sight
And I was snatched and thrown back on to the rocks devoured by the sea
I sobered…The slopes casted me out my Love I whispered with tears
And there I was back at the shores… Looking across the twilight sun
I summoned the sea…I shall sail again!
But wet as my face was from the journey … I buried my corpse in the hot sand
I exiled myself… Sea Born I was… Sea born shall always be
I held the grains of glittering sand in my palm… For dirt it can never be
I closed those tiresome lids for the last time… My lips parted in to the final scream… “I’m almost here… My Passion I’m almost here!”
Day 1
Day 1
Leaving everything behind, the journey I initiated was a blur. Running towards the slopes was the ideal answer to me. The old house awaits me I said and there I shall face the past yet again. For odious are my memories and he is part of the swamp I have lived in for some time… I look back and all I see is a shadow with an innocent essence screaming and screeching, but no one hears it beg. The memory is the key for me to fall under the Fakir’s voodoo casted upon me. I don’t know why I can’t stop I don’t know why I haven’t claimed a Nay! But how can I? When weakness is my hinder, when a pumping blaze is the supreme authority for all the confusion and misery I have claimed. She screamed to go back to the present enjoy a fruit basket she stumbled upon while I just craved for the past. Yearned to seek an aura... lavished with flames I have surely misplaced. The road was an illusion dripping with jauntiness. To him, to his arms, to his soul I screamed! Why are you my adversary I scolded her stop pulling me back! Please I beg you let me surrender, let me fall wounded, let me waste my pragmatism. I yearn to him why wouldn’t you allow me to seek myself in the core of his eyes … those eyes that captivate me. What are you trying to prove you ignorant selfish being??!! She blasted at me… let him be, let time heal purify you from those sins… love? There is no such being you foolish girl. I may roam the entire region and never accomplish my goal I replied back… I acknowledge that what I thrive for is absurd but I crave for his voice… for his tenderness why can’t you understand? Have you got no mercy u ghastly?
She sighed with pity and grudgingly replied… my blood myself why won’t you understand that the moon is not bright and astonishing as it seems? I strive to keep you in your safe cocoon; I battle to keep you sane… why do you have to be masochistic? Why do you choose your death while you can be alive?
I stared back at my own reflection and replied, for the ordinary I shall settle not. Get out of myself and let me to head to my flight for I chose bondage and the wounds are mine! I shall rage and the siege I shall defy! I shall burn myself if it means that I survive … for earth is just not enough and my rocket has settled its path…
She stared with rage at my reply as she creased her forehead and her mouth twitched… you are absurd!! You are mad!! You are ridiculous!! A FOOL I SAY!!
Wake up from the dream… you are just acting so juvenile. Why can’t you accept the bliss you are in? Why can’t you let go and just breathe… look at the world how it lives and proceeds and you still hanging to the star that was once a token of a forbidden desire. I looked at my reflection in the mirror and spoke to her yet again … dearest self I have got no answer!! Let me be... Leave me alone… for I have been cursed and you shall not hold for me my cross!
My Photography...Enjoy!
“An olive tree pregnant with grace made me wonder. I ignored the puzzled faces passing by for they are ignorant of the beauty… The Beauty that is shy and timid of neglect. I united with the breeze that struggles across the urban dark forest that I escaped only with my soul and visions…The breeze settled down in my guts for seconds to exit again towards the horizon making me yearn for the wings of Icarus, yet I shall soar low as I might land in the clutches of my beloved…My salvation on earth
Days withered and I’m still lost in the gruesome trance. I neglected all and used the nude for the nation as a whole, you sons of man, are implicated. Ignorance and Grief Grew and Flourished in my soul for evil around me is all what roams. Dearest Tree, you simple magnificent creature I beg thee enlighten me for the simple ruffle of your leaves made me neglect all what I saw as necessary. In your calm generous nature I found serenity. On the urge of tears I was when you revealed the glory of your creator. Warmth and Love took over me and my soul urged to be fondled because ahuge debt has been prayed. Raghda Sweid”




