Iskandar Soekardi, a full-time ESL teacher at the American Language Center of Agadir, will host “Another Afternoon of Creative Expression, Thanksgiving and the Mawlid” at Ibn Zohr University (Room 46) on Thursday, December 17th at 3:30 pm. Presented by the Path Ahead workshops of ALC Agadir and Ibn Zohr’s Public Speaking Club – نادي ابن زهر لفن الخطابة., the event will feature poets, public speakers, and other performers in a relaxed, non-formal setting. Everyone is welcome to join, and the audience is encouraged to bring poetry (original or favorites) to the event for an open mic reading. Soekardi, who is also a homeschool teacher and an often-reluctant poet, will hold the door open to ecstatic, dynamic expressions.Agadir, Morocco
My family says
it was an angel
who helped me
lift you
over the high walls
of the cradle.
I remember only the haze
of the approach
to put you back
in the arms
of our mother.
She had the strength.
I was a child,
too scared
for kindergarten,
or anything outside
the sun
of our garden.
Teachers had us
draw maps
to remind us
of nearness
to our beloved,
arrows and smiles
pasted
on the roads
and crossings.
I brought you
forward, my shield
from questions.
You brought me
forward,
a maker of maps
for somewhere safe,
above the angels.
