Harbinger of fate

 

Dreary and bleak 

Weary feet walking desolate lands

Miles of deserted plains and empty streets

It all looks the same 

Icy cold is this existence 

Wallowing in seas of shame and torment

Viciously engulfed in agonizing visions 

Ceaselessly yearning for the end

A dire circumstance 

Circling around the fires of regret

Plunged into the depths of the inferno 

Even Dante wouldn't dare 

An unexpected happenstance 

From the ashes, you rise again

Velcro the shattered pieces and carry on

Even Icarus couldn't bare 

Out of the abyss, 

A flightless bird emerge

Charcoaled skin, shedding fear 

Climbing ever higher

A Morningstar on the horizon

with faith strapped to its core

Miles of hardships and ire 

disappear in the blink of an eye 

Waking up to a new dawn 

waking up to a new life 

Rising to brand new hightes

soldiering through it all with a smile

The veil is thin

Her lips were blossoming roses on a spring eve,

her eyelashes fluttering in the breeze like a butterfly

Her skin soft, hugging me as cloud would hug a rainbow

Frolicking in the meadows of her pristine forest,

 I see the world anew

The veil is thin and the night is indigo 

The moon is bright, marble in the ether

The witching hour is upon us 

Translucent is the veil that covers us

A fever dream, on a breezy Antioch night 

A familiar face, smiling in delight

Intensely sensing the heartbeats of the gods 

Reading the minds of the crowds 

Floating  together through the city, crossing miles in no time 

We are alone amidst the Karasu and Afrin rivers, 

Two river spirits, exploding with no bounds 

    Dark gifts running amok, gently sweeping you into a trance

Helping you through the prism, in a glorious dance 

Freeing is this flight, splendor all around,

Strengthening the timeless ties of love and hate alike 

Capable of supernovas and big bangs, hope is all around

Akasha, Isis, and Roman pride, are all but a fleeting memory of the past

The uncharted Void

Deep down there is a void that no one wants to speak of. 

It's the darkest place in your being, damp and lonesome. 

Uncharted it is, yet it has and will always be there.

Whether you are happy or depressed it will always exist.

In your calmest warmest moments, it will come creeping out of nowhere. 

In your worst days, it is a constant that will never leave. 

Lurking in the back of your mind, like a demon in the deepest pits of hell

Awaiting your descent, expecting you to fall like Icarus. 

It's a lonely journey, a long night without rest,

An aimless walk in the woods and an endless drive through the desert. 

It's the only haunted mansion in the prairie, it's a deserted village 

A radioactive hospital during war, it is anything but wholesome. 

Fighting against it will never lead anywhere,

Embracing it might be a better solution.

Your shadow self, Embrace it
It is the Yin to your Yang,

The Hyde to your Jekyll, the Lestat to your Louis 

And the chaos to your calm mind.   

A duality that will never cease, a mix that you will learn to ease

A life long partnership that you will master in time. 

Like Persephone, Goddess of spring and Queen of the underworld. 

Like Hel, half dead and half alive. 

Like Blodeuwedd, the May Queen and the owl. 

A valiant soul

Fleeing a city filled with violence and greed,

Dido embarked on a journey to be freed.

Away from Pygmalion's ire,

away from Tyre's fire.

She fashioned a city of splendour,

a city feared for its grandeur.

Her wit and grit came in handy,

In a land ruled by a dandy.

Seeking to redeem her plight,

she acquired Byrsa with a bull's hide, 

without vengeance nor a fight.

The gods favoured her,
and her people praised her.

Ashtart guided this valiant soul in her mission,

peacefully building a fortress in the face of oppression.

Ba'al looked down in admiration, 

Melqart bowed to her courage in affirmation.

Tanit was overlooking every step,

making sure Dido wins the bet.

Hirbas was smitten by her beauty,
Aeneas loved her purity,
yet she stayed faithful to Acerbas' memory,
loving another would be a heresy.

She sacrificed herself to her people,
showing them that she isn't feeble
Bards still sing of her legacy,
Academics study her regency
All commoners speak of her reverently.

Dido's crown by Julie K Rose #Full Review

I should've found time to write this review  earlier , but the hectic schedule of the last months and weeks didn't give me enough space to do it.

I shall start from the very beginning . Julie K Rose approached me via a mutual friend almost a year ago before publishing  Dido's crown.

This Historical fiction is very dear to my heart because I saw it grow from being a draft to a concrete published novel . This also been my first time editing and giving input on late drafts of a  fully-fledged published author . Julie was such an awesome person to work with .

Now , let's move to the Novel itself. This historical fiction takes place between the Tunisian , French and British suburbs, but most of the events took place in the thrilling and risky tunisian setting of the 1930s .

I personally see Dido's crown  as a complex and fast paced political intrigue with  an eager attempt to quench the wanderlust of the reader as well as a way to cross time and space and revisit a magnificent and complicated era  while adding a nicely thought affair in the midst of its hassle.

here is a blurb of the Novel :

"Set in Tunisia and France in 1935, Dido's Crown is a taut literary-historical adventure influenced by Indiana Jones, The Thin Man, and John le Carré.


Mary Wilson MacPherson has always been adept at putting the past behind her: her father's death, her sister's disappearance, and her complicated relationship with childhood friends Tom and Will.
But that all changes when, traveling to North Africa on business for her husband, Mary meets a handsome French-Tunisian trader who holds a mysterious package her husband has purchased — a package which has drawn the interest not only of Britain's Secret Intelligence Service, but the Nazis as well.

When Tom and Will arrive in Tunisia, Mary suddenly finds herself on a race across the mesmerizing and ever-changing landscapes of the country, to the shores of southern France, and all across the wide blue Mediterranean. Despite her best efforts at distancing herself from her husband's world, Mary has become embroiled in a mystery that could threaten not only Tunisian and British security in the dangerous political landscape of 1935, but Mary's beliefs about her past and the security of her own future."

The author helped me see my own home country in a different light. The characters and events fitted nicely together as the intricate plot went on.  The main characters were well tailored by the author but the one that speaks to me the most must be Alain Saidini  because of his Tuniso-french background. His confidence and poise  mirrored that of Tunisian intellectuals from the 30s, also his fears and concerns made him a very relatable character, Alain was highly ambitious and driven  and in the same time a person who values family ties and that's how most tunisians are like ,until this day.

The mysterious package is something that the reader himself should discover on his own . A rise in the reader's Adrenaline is assured . The thrill of the chase and peek-a-boos with the Nazis and others, will follow the reader throughout the whole novel .

This book is simply awesome ,it has it all : a catchy setting , interesting characters and a mysterious package.

Don't hesitate to check the Author's website and order the book on Amazon , Indie Bound or any of the other bookstores mentioned on Julie's Website. 

Reading updates #3 : three reviews at once

- La derniere odalisque: 

This book is a biography of Lella Safiyé (Princess Safiyé) from the husseinite dynasty of Tunisia , Fayçal Bey (her grandson)  tells about her struggle from her early teenagehood in the rough caucasus mountains where she miraculously escaped the  murder spree in her village ,the harsh time she spent in Istanbul witnessing the decline of the ottoman empire and learning how to be a proper odalisk (concubine) and then , how she made it all the way to Tunisia and was treated as the daughter of Lella Kmar (Wife of Naceur Bey and former Odalisk from the caucasus as well ) . These are just snippets from her story , but to dive deeper into it was a complete roller coaster . This book showed me a side of history that has always been neglected by the history books of our schools  , a part of history that we hardly know anything about ...

- Banco : further adventure of papillon by Papillon (Hénri Charriere ) : 

This is  one of those off-the-beaten-track autobiographies , it  has been given to me by a dear  traveller friend that I highly appreciate :

Henri Charriere  aka Papillon is a french citizen who has been condemned to be imprisoned  in a french penal colony  because of a crime he never committed , sentenced at the age of 24 he gains his freedom after 13 years only to be submerged with the idea of revenge , to take down all those who wronged him and made him spend the years of his youth inside the walls of a prison and in the outskirts of a penal colony . In  order to carry on with his revenge plan Papillon  had to get hold of a certain amount of money ,so he dived in illegalities. One day, after years of failure , solitude and despair. someone enlightened his life .

This is one of the stories that shows how those who are supposed to protect (police,  governments ...) can one day frame those same people they claim to protect  and be the reason of their downfall . 

-The war of the worlds by Herbert G.Wells : 

Here is another Sci-Fi  made by Herbert G wells the precursor of the genre , a classic illustrated version of War of the worlds 

 The Story itself was simple , however  it is initially the source of inspiration of a lot of scientists , writers and filmmakers ,what makes it special is the classic illustrations and the fact  that Herbert G wells is a pioneer in the genre . 

The Story talks about a martian invasion on southern England and London, and how the unnamed narrator and his brother survived the attacks .

classics such as this , have a special part in my little bookish heart .

see you soon with other updates, 

I am currently reading The invisible man by Herbert G. Wells and Al jazia-al Hilalia by Mohamed  marzouki

Tag #4 : 15 Bookish facts about me

  I was Tagged by Yosra abdelkader briki , don't hesitate to pay her a visit on her booktube channel  here 

1/The more books I buy the better I feel .

2/ If I enter a bookstore or a Thrift shop (second hand bookstores) know for sure that I'll buy a book , no matter how penniless I might be , sometimes I even sacrifice the money of cab rides to buy it and then go back home on foot . (that's how much I am dedicated to books)

3/ I rarely check Goodreads or take into account other people's reviews , unless the statement or the review was made by an author that I highly appreciate . if it something recommended by Stephan king or Anne rice know for sure that it is a fantastic Book to own . otherwise no other reviews count for me .

4 / Paperback or Hardcovers? It doesn't matter .

5/Art work of a book do matter , but I couldn't careless about it as long as the content of the book is gripping and fantastic .

6/ I hate to see books that are badly treated and torn or even slightly folded in such or such page , PEOPLE THERE IS SOMETHING CALLED BOOK MARKERS and it can literally be anything from a piece of paper or a business card  to a proper bookmark or bits of highlighting papers from a stationery store . they are efficient and they don't ruin your books .

6/ I never take notes on the book itself or write on it or highlight parts of it , unless I am leaving a message to the person i am giving (sending) the book to and it's usually on one of the blank papers in the forefront of the book or in the back ...


7/ I am a daily reader , but it can vary , I can read anywhere from 4 pages to 200 pages per day depending on my mood and whether I have enough time or not . But a daily dose of reading is necessary to me .

8/I don't give away my books or lend them to anyone  , unless it's a book exchange that I wanted to make or someone that I highly trust when it comes to books (meaning a proper bookworm who will know how to treat my book and give it back on time) there are certain books that I will never ever give to anyone no matter how much I trust them .

9/ I rarely re-read books , and even if I do it's just specific passages or poetry verses .... the only exception for me would be  to re-read the Millenium trilogy for Stieg Larsson  in it's native language (Swedish)

10/ I would love to read arabic books : I just need to be directed to the right contemporary writers that are worthwhile .  the last book I read in Arabic was Sleepless nights  - سهرت منه الليالي -
by Ali douagi and this was a year ago

11/ Owning a very old edition of a book  for me , is indescribable, it's like I won the lottery ! In this matter I have one of the very first editions of Lasher and I also own a copy of Shakespeare's work from the 1800s a green Old school edition  by Ginn and Heath

12 / I am infatuated with old and rare books ; I would pay considerable amounts of money to own old  and rare editions . It doesn't matter how much they are worn and tattered . 

13/ Waterstones is a bookstore that I wouldn't mind spending all my life in . 

14/ I only read PDFs or epubs when I don't have the physical copy . specially if I am reading a trilogy or a serie and I happen to have missed a book from it or two ! 

15/ When I am immersed in the universe of the book I am reading , I  forget about everything around me including food and drinks , that's why I mostly drink or eat my snacks prior to reading ! 

Bonus bookish fact :  I am turning my niece into a bookworm and I am so proud of her ! Last time out of all of my books she picked the one dearest to me (Vampire : The twilight world its vampire anthology by Sir  Simon Marsden) and she told me to read to her from it , saying to me that one day she would love to have her own little library like auntie ,  This has been one of the most precious moments I had with her . 

Happy reading and enjoy your books and reading nooks 

I will leave you with this question : 

I am expecting to see your answers in the comments down below .