September 10, 2019
By Rokaya Chaarani
I feel elated at the view of red and blue skies,
Sapphire dawns,
Velvet nights…
I dream of wearing gowns that emulate their flair,
For I fancy their luminescence,
I envy their ineffable glare.
However,
I am a blue sky because peacefulness lives in me,
A red sky because passion galvanizes my spirit into
Chasing what’s fiery and free.
I am a sapphire dawn because demure darkness understands me
A velvet night because sophisticated art frees me
Like Beat poetry.
Whatever,
Nature always rewards me,
For how terrifying, mysterious, thrilling I am,
Like a conspiracy theory.
Like water and fire.
I cool down,
Nonetheless, I burn higher.
Rokaya Chaarani
Contributor
"What Life is Even About" is a little poem I wrote about a month ago. It was inspired by Madonna's song "Live to Tell", featured in the British film Shanghai Express (1986). When I first heard "Live to Tell", it resonated with me in such an extreme way that I thought I could imagine myself saying those words and feel exactly what she meant. Many of my poems incorporate the theme of questioning and/or discovering the facts of life, which is very important to me, as this theme is literally the backbone of my life. Writing, especially poems, is a personal experience, and it becomes even more personal when you include something you think only you understand, so this poem somehow reveals thoughts that have long been rooted in the back of the mind and shed light on who I am.
Rokaya Chaarani is a Moroccan university student and poet. She has been writing poetry in English since the age of 18. Her favorite poets are Sylvia Plath, Ann Sexton and Edgar Alan Poe.
