Throughout the summer 2018 I took part in the Summer Intensive Arabic Language Program at the American University of Sharjah. My poem and photos reflect vivid memories of that unforgettable stay.
SHARJAH
Sometimes when I close my eyes at night,
Memories awake – they are so bright.
This was my destiny, I know,
From plains covered with ice and snow
To a distant, distant foreign land
Where camels are lying on red sand.
I´m walking alone in Sharjah´s streets,
Tasting dried dates and other sweets,
Colourful fountains in the city centre
Not far from Al Qasba, and so I enter
Fairy-tales of One Thousand and One Nights,
Colours and reflections, amazing lights.
The scent of perfumes and the gleam of gold,
Sharjah as a crossroad in times of old,
The walls and labyrinthine passages
Have preserved two-hundred years old messages.
History breathes from all these places,
People from the past have left their traces.
Back to the present, out of the shadow
To Al Noor Island and the gleaming meadow.
Such a hidden gem, a real treasure,
Enjoyment, emotions, peace and pleasure.
To the Butterfly House, the path is paved,
One of the trees whispers: I was saved.
Alice Týnská
