Bird of Fire

Yesterday, I was reading a "peaceful and friendly" part-Israeli blog - East Med Sea ‎Peace- cheering the fact that the Lebanese were capable of making political humor ‎out of their tragedy… the old arabic verse, "Like a bird dancing out of Pain" came to ‎mind. The bird is Lebanon, a Phoenix.. Much as it dances out of joy in its better days, ‎it dances out of pain in times of hurt.... It dances to shake off the ashes. ‎
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The Phoenix bursts into fire, then rises again, do the shrieks sound like laughter? ‎Maybe they do. Just like southern mothers who welcome their fallen children back ‎home with a "Ululation," and hide their tears. Somehow their cries resound of pain, a ‎different sound of joy that says: "Happy to have you back, torn, wounded, ...dead.. ‎happy to have you back no matter what."‎
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Only with laughter can we welcome back our Lebanon.. our precious little Lebanon.. ‎a secret legend says that with echos of laughter we can herald in tomorrow. Legend ‎says that the smiles in this little rock called Lubnan turn into clouds, and rain back ‎droplets of life..‎
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For its sake, for Lebanon's sake, we tread on our hearts, we swallow our pain, we hide ‎our wounds, and hang our bloody clothes as cheerful banners, we dry our tears and ‎spread the white salt and perhaps throw into air our last ration of rice to bring ‎Lebanon back, we stand up and cry:‎
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O Joy! O Joy! Rise Lebanon, Rise!

For its sake we shall live, and for its name we shall ‎laugh.‎