POETRY

Abu Dhabi Is... (2020)
first published in Unootha

Abu Dhabi is
two Shami women power walking in sync in matching tracksuits
a couple sitting 3 feet apart on a bench looking at their phones
a glitzy mall surrounded by darkness
anxious blonde women crossing the street
a woman with a braid and a fuchsia fleece jogging in place
restaurants I can’t afford
shady salon ladies and a Papa Roti honey bun
men who do squats in the middle of the corniche
shirtless kids playing volleyball at sundown
“for rent” signs
the echoes of the athan downtown
helpful strangers.
two little Egyptian girls chasing each other in laughter as their tired mother watches on.
love and loneliness.

it’s two men in kurtas cycling together
loud phone calls
wide, red and white crosswalks
a family of tourists walking on the cycling track all holding hands
kandouras and galaleeb and nikes
a group of construction workers digging in the cold on the side of the road
Arab kids and after-school manakeesh,
people trying their best,
engine-revving assholes.
those who live in the shadows.

hurried delivery men,
a taxi driver furiously yelling at the man who hit our car and asking me, “you see?”,
powerlessness.

Abu Dhabi is a man jogging in a t-shirt, jeans, and a taqiya. just him.
two middle-aged Arab men walking along the beach at sunset,
a dingy restaurant whose menu was definitely compiled through google photos,
a man sitting on a bench in a neon construction vest at 8 pm, facing the now-dark sea.
heartbreak,
a lot of strange looks,
and me.