Just Melani

APAKAH BENAR? By: Usamah Abu Kabir Apakah benar rumput Tumbuh kembali setelah hujan? Apakah benar bunga Mengembang kembali di musim semi? Apakah benar burung Akan kembali terbang pulang? Apakah benar ikan-ikan salmon Juga berenang pulang mengarungi jeram? Itu semua benar Semuanya benar Semua adalah keajaiban Tapi apakah benar, kami semua akan pulang Pergi meninggalkan Pantai Guantanamo yang jahanam Apakah benar suatu hari kamu akan pulang? Aku berlayar dalam mimpi Mendamba aroma rumah Bersama anak-anakku belahan jiwa Bersama istriku, satu-satunya yang kucinta Bersama orangtuaku Yang menjadi tambatan jiwa Aku bermimpi pulang, keluar dari tahanan Wahai para hakim, dengarlah suara ini Apakah kalian mendengar kami? Tak ada salah yang kami perbuat Hingga berakhir di tempat ini Bebaskan kami, merdekakan kembali Jika masih ada keadilan dan kemanusiaan Di dunia ini!

1. My daughter, Patti, was having difficulty balancing her checkbook, so I sent her a calculator. I included an extra set of batteries and this note: “These are for the first time you forget to turn off your calculator.” She wrote back, “I appreciate your gift, Mom. And thanks for the extra batteries. You forgot to turn off the calculator.” (Lari Osborn) 2. When I took a pair of slacks to the dry cleaners, I pointed out to the clerk the double creases that had been left from the previous cleaning. I asked him to make sure the trousers received proper treatment this time. Upon picking up the pants, I was relieved to see they had been pressed perfectly. Glancing at the garment ticket, I read: “Pay attention to creases. Customer would like one per leg.” (RT. Andersen) 3. With me in the car when I returned some books to the library were my two long-haired dachshunds. Ozy, who was on the backseat, has a habit of barking for a minute or so after being left in the car. Shandy, which remains q

It’s the little things that make a life together Cauliflower love By Erma Bombeck We looked a little ridiculous – two 47-year-old adults sitting alone at a card table in the back yard with party hats strapped under our chins. It wasn’t the way I had imagined our 25 th wedding anniversary gala. I had fantasized a large white tent decorated with flowers and housing a six-piece orchestra. Several hundred guests would be milling around. My husband and I would exchange diamond-studded matching tennis bracelets. He would romantically feed me out-of-season blueberries, and the orchestra would play our favorite song, “Our love is here to stay,” while we swayed together on the dance floor. Later, we would throw streamers from the deck of a cruise ship and swill champagne while our misty-eyed children waved from the pier. The reality was, our kids had thrown a couple of hamburgers and a few hot dogs on the barbecue grill, gobbled them and left, leaving us to c

That evening we discovered a closeness so subtle we didn’t know it was there. Together’s Better By Erma Bombeck At the altar waiting for me was a man I met in secondary school. We had no car, no place to live, no furniture, and no sterling-silver pattern. Bill didn’t even have a job. He had a year left at university. Here I was two weeks after graduating from university walking down the aisle without a job. Then I met the gaze of my bridegroom, and poverty and unfulfilled dreams seemed unimportant. What was the matter with me? I loved the man. I knelt by his side and observed him through my veil. He had a smattering of white paint on his ear from painting houses for extra money. The faint odor of turpentine hung over him. That would have to change. I also made a mental note to let his hair grow out. I hated his short hair. The man definitely needs work, I thought, but I had years ahead to mold him into the husband he was capable of being. His best man and pok