A new night
of the sacred month
the thin slice of the moon... the crescent
visible only a few minutes
to the naked eye
A sight beautiful
signaling new,
fresh..
Greetings one to the other: Marhaban ya Ramadhan
And a few hours later
sounds of drums
Wake up! Wake up!
have a meal,
a simple glass of water!
Before the first light,
before you begin the fast,
make the intention
Wake up! Wake up!
And the day progresses, a slowing down;
restaurants closed, coffee houses empty.
And workers begin their trek home early
Late afternoon, the speciality stores open
selling the special once a year snacks,
crowds flocking and moving hurriedly
collecting their breakfast
And mothers prepare the traditional meals
taking extra time
for the fasting family
Only an hour before the sun sets
city streets empty,
as in a curfew,
And now only a few minutes,
family and friends gather around the table
making small talk
awaiting the moment...silence...
Start sound of adzan
Allah-hu Akbar
Allah-hu Akbar
Allah-hu Akbar
Allah-hu Akbar
(God is great) .....
And the siren, signalling the sun dipping below the horizon
And together, some with dates, some with a pinch of salt
"We take this food in the name of Allah, most gracious, ever merciful"
Prayers given
and later friends and family
mill around, some content
others tired, but all happy
on this day of Ramadhan...
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