A Journey

It is a journey among many,

in an alphabet you can barely read,

yet you long to learn.

It begins long before you were here,

and it continues long after you are gone.

Don’t panic or pack,

and don’t leave anything behind.

Take a deep breath,

immerse your senses

in shallow water,

and your soul in depth.

It is a journey;

not horizontal,

not longitudinal,

but transcendence.

It is, as I said,

a journey, so crawl,

stand,

you will fall,

then walk and fall again.

Follow the shadows that move,

feel the earth that shakes,

hear the oceans that weep,

and nurture the blossoming thoughts.

It is a journey,

a challenging journey

that takes a lifetime

to reach nowhere but one,

Thyself.

It is a long, yearning journey

where the ends meet,

and no one is there

except you,

in solitude.

By Najat Alshafie

29 October 2025

A child’s drawing