Dancing with the Muse after Midnight
Music to the Ears
by
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THE APPLE OF MY HEART She was my real love, my real life, myself! For her, I would put my previous book of life on a deserted shelf. I couldn’t gain her heart, so I asked the powers of nature to change me into a tree to watch her and she and I will never be apart. She loved to come and play around the tree every day. She climbed the tree, ate the apples and took a nap under the shadow. Time went by She no longer played in the meadow. Sadly, I looked at her and said: “Come play with me like before” She replied, ‘I am no longer a kid, and I don’t play around trees anymore. I want toys. I need money to buy them.’ The tree said: “Sorry, I don’t have money, but you can pick all my apples and sell them.” She left happily and did not return and the missing of the tree was like a burn. Then, one day, she came back. The tree was excited and said: “Come play with me like before.” She said: ‘I don’t have time to play like before. I have to work to get a shelter: a house with a door.’ The tree was sad but said: “Sorry, I don’t have a house. But you can chop off my branches to make yourself a home. Anywhere in the world: America, Paris, or Rome.” So, she cut all the branches of the tree, smiled and left happily. The tree was excited but the girl never came back again. Thus, the tree was lonely and sad and almost insane. After a long time, she came back one hot summer. “Come play with me like before” the tree asked. ‘No, I am sad and getting old. I wanna go sailing to relax.’ The tree said: “Love, take my trunk and use an axe. Build yourself a boat, be merry and have fun.” And when she left this time, for the tree, there was no more sun. Finally after long years, she returned. The tree said: “Sorry, my girl, I have nothing for you. No more apples are on the sight” She said, ‘I have even no teeth to bite.’ The tree said, “No more trunk for you to climb or cut.” She said, ‘And no more power have I got. All I need is only a place to rest. I am tired after all these years.’ “Old tree roots are the best place to lean on and rest. They will give you comfort and take you inside like a heart inside the chest.” She sat under the old tree like she did ages ago. It was like the golden old years. The tree looked down and couldn’t help its tears because the girl gave up her soul to the sky. That was the final goodbye. The whole picture was full of agony, but it was like a piece of art. Nothing is there: Only the tree and the apple of my heart!
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About the Book
Many poets and writers like to classify their work in terms of periods or stages in their lives such as adolescence or old ages. Others like to sort out their poems and fiction in terms of themes. There could be a hundred and one classifications for works of art. This book divides the poems into 2 sections: poems written during the day and those that were written after midnight. The classification is meant to be intriguing as it sheds many spotlights on the internal conflicts that poets face during the day and express them right after; or rather keep the feelings inside until they are released late at night.
At the beginning, I considered calling the book Fighting with Aphrodite all day, Dancing with the Muse all Night but I found out that Aphrodite was nothing but many learning experiences that lead to the maturity of writing. Then, I decided to change the title of the book to highlight not the struggle but the reward: the eternal dance with the Muse.
About the Author
Amr is a lecturer in the Department of English, Qatar University. He also worked at the same university as a Level Supervisor, and currently he is the Testing and Assessment Coordinator. He obtained his M.A in TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) from the AUC (American University in Cairo). He has worked in different American, Egyptian, Bahraini, and Qatari universities. He also obtained a diploma in Teacher Training and Course Design from University of California, Santa Cruz. He had papers presented in twelve international conventions some of which were in Canada, Dubai, Thailand, Italy, Indonesia, Australia, Korea, Hong Kong and others. He worked as a teacher trainer, ESL Instructor and English linguistics Lecturer.
Amr’s passion for traveling and his profuse visits to different parts of the world have awakened many senses in him especially his literary abilities. He writes poetry, short stories, prose, and novels. Along with his bounteous interests in different fields such as traveling, photography, bill collection and others, writing has always had a unique place for him. It was born in him in an early stage in his life and urged him to study and enjoy English Literature and Linguistics. Thanks to his studies, interests, trials and errors, and personal efforts, his aptitude for writing got polished and developed over the years. He likes to think that when he is not sleeping, he is writing; even without a pen or a computer!