My Sestina: Love

Some give roses
and others give diamonds
to express their love.
Those who care
for one another will together
and forever live with bliss.

However, sometimes even bliss
is not enough. That's when roses
come in play, together
along with diamonds
to show how much one cares
and treasures their love.

It is something that everyone wants, love
that is, and of course bliss.
Showing that you care
for someone does not always include roses
nor expensive, luxurious diamonds
though, just as long as you are together.

For those who are together
and are crazily in love,
the next step for them may involve diamonds.
With unconditional bliss
comes emotions and roses
to represent their affection and care.

People who truly care
about each other stay together
through thick and thin. Roses
are known as a symbol of love
and genuine bliss.
Rubies, jades, pearls, and diamonds

are all common rocks. However, diamonds
are more common to show that one cares,
thinks and always bring bliss
to the other when together.
Those deeply in love
give each other red roses.

With bliss comes romance, diamonds
and roses. When you have a significant other and care
for him or her, remember to stay together and forever in love.

Final Reflection of Memoir

"Joanna of Kurdistan: The True story of a Freedom Fighter's Escape from Iraqi Vengeance: Love in a Torn Land" is the best memoir that I have read. This memoir has all of the qualities that I like and enjoy in books: drama, romance, and suspense. "...Love in a Torn Land" is written by Jean Sasson, but a memoir on Joanna al-Askari. Even though this is not Sasson's memoir, she makes this memoir her own and very personal as if she, herself, is Joanna. This memoir is rich in details, easy to understand and imagine, has effective figurative devices, such as similes, imagery, metaphors, and foreshadowing, and overall, meaningful and amazing. I am very glad that I chose this memoir to read for this assignment.
"...Love in a Torn Land" is about survival, romance, hope, family, and fight for freedom. Sasson begins this memoir when Joanna is ten years old and ends when Joanna is twenty-seven years old. This three hundred and fifteen page memoir covers seventeen years of Joanna al-Askari's most tragic and memorable events of her life. From when Joanna and her family were robbed and attacked in Iraq to when she and her family were free from torture in England. From a life as a Peshmerga to a life as a normal being. From having a miscarriage to having a healthy and normal newborn baby. From the most traumatizing events to the most blissful events.
When I began this memoir, I knew nothing about Joanna al-Askari. After reading and empathizing with what Joanna went through in this three hundred and fifteen page memoir, I have learned many things about her. Some of the many things that I have learned about Joanna is that she is beautiful, has determination, is risky, loyal, loving, and is scared and snakes and scorpions. Although I have never met Joanna, and most likely will never meet her, I feel as if I have known her for ages. Through Sassons amazing and talented writing skills, I have enjoyed reading Joanna's memoir. I would recommend this memoir to every one of age.

Section 4 of Memoir (p. 252 - end)

In the end of "love in a Torn Land..." Joanna al-Askari and Sarbast Hussain experiences danger, pain, devastation, disappointment, grief, love, bliss, hope, relief, and freedom. Jean Sasson, the author of Joanna's memoir, uses imagery, similes, foreshadows, and strong word choices and details to make this memoir effective. The last section of this memoir is about Joanna and Sarbast's survival through the tough and dangerous events of escaping from Iraqi enemies, and their journey to freedom from Iraq to England. A passage that I like and believe is effective and powerful is,
"My darling Sarbast look so worn and weary. During nearly three years of married life, we had lived through more troubles than most couples married for fifty or sixty years. Yet those trials and tribulations had made us so close that I knew even if I lived for another hundred years, Sarbast was the only person in the world who would perfectly understand my every thought and emotion... I was amazed by the kindness shown by the immigration afficials at Heathrow [England]. They rallied around, arranging accommodation and food, providing us with money and even offering assistance to help us attain legal status. After years of dealing with Iraqi government officials who routinely harassed us, I simply couldn't believe the compassion of strangers" (310).
This passage clearly shows the strong bond and strength of Joanna and Sarbast's relationship of one another. My favorite line in the passage is, "during nearly three years of married life, we had lived through more troubles than most couples married for fifty or sixty years." Three years is indeed a long amount of time, but fifty or sixty years is even a longer amount of time. To compare three years to fifty or sixty years strongly states how serious and difficult their condition and situation were in Iraq.
Moreover, I also like the comparison and contrast of how they were treated by the Iraqi officials to the immigration officials. The atmosphere, mood and voice altogether changed instantly from being hopeless to being hopeful once they arrived to England from Iraq. Hope for a normal, safe life and freedom. Though there some mailcious and heartless people in the world, knowing that there are still some generous and thoughtful people also in the world makes the future more hopeful.

Section 3 Memoir (p. 157-251)

"Love in a Torn Land..." is almost coming to an end, yet this memoir is still thrilling and amusing. Joanna al-Askari has decided to marry Sarbast. By accepting Sarbast's proposal, Joanna has left her family in Baghdad and has moved to Bergalou, approximately 225 miles north of Baghdad. Joanna and Sarbast's marriage and relationship with one another are growing stronger as they are overcoming their obstacles. Sarbast is a Peshmerga, a Kurdish freedom fighter, and because Joanna married him, she is also a Peshmerga. During this time, Iraqis and Peshmergas are fighting against one another. Life as a Peshmerga is risky, dangerous, and life threatening. Frequently the Iraqis would use poison gas chemicals to attack the Peshmergas, once it nearly caused Joanna to lose her eye sight. "Yes! I knew it! I now recognized the unpleasant odor I had heard about from the survivors of previous chemical attacks: rotten apples, onions, and garlic. Sarbast was right. We were under chemical attack!... Feeling that I was about to explode, I was forced to breathe in the foul gases. My eyes were beginning to feel the effect of the gas, as well. I felt as if my eyes had been set on fire. The pain was so intense that hot needles probing my eyeballs could not have hurt any more" (208-209).
Jean Sasson uses similes and metaphors to thoroughly explain the smell of the chemical attack, Joanna's mood, pain and emotions. Since the beginning of this memoir, Sasson have done an excellent job with text, language, and imagery. I enjoy her writing because of the easy and vivid language, and also because I can easily visualize the events happening. When I read this memoir, it is like a movie playing in my head. Sasson's language, clear descriptions, characterizations, and images are all effective.

Section 2 of Memoir (p. 83-153)

Breath-taking, heart-breaking, devastating, thrilling, exciting, emotional, and romantic. This section of "Love in a Torn Land..." captured my full attention and I can not wait to continue on reading until I reach the end! So many significant events occurred in this section: Joanna's ffather's tragic death, her first love and broken heart, her first trip abrod to France, her brother's traumatizing experience from fighting in the war, her first interrogation by Iraqi officers, her first love letters, and last but not least, her second chance at love. The language that Jean Sasson uses to express Joanna al-Askari's events are vivid, alive, and easy to comprehend. This passage describes the situation of Joanna and her family after receiving a phone call regarding to her father. "Ten days before [his death], he had collapsed at the railroad offices and had been rushed to the hospital. When word came, Mother, Sa'ad, Muna, and I sped across the city in a taxi cab to the Al-Numan Hospital, located in Adhamiya, Mother staring straight ahead, praying, Sa'ad dark and still, and Muna pale and trembling. I was in an unmobing stupor, yearning to cry but unable to shed a single tear" (86). Besides the language, Sasson's word choice are also effective. For one part, I like how Sasson describes Sa'ad and Muna. Sa'ad and Muna are twins and it has been said in this memoir that Sa'ad, the the twin, older brother, and Muna, the twin sister, have completely different characteristics. I did not notice this before in this passage, but Sasson did a good job at showing how diferent they were, "Sa'ad dark and still, and Muna pale and trembling." Another part in this passage that I also like is the last sentence, "I was in an unmoving stupor, yearing to cry but unable to shed a single tear." I really like this sentence because I know exactly how she Felt at the time. Approximately two years ago, my grandma passed away. On the days of her funeral, I was "yearining to cry but unable to shed a single tear." However, before, when it was annouced that my grandma was no longer physically with us, I had cried a liter of tears. Puzzled, I did not know why I couldn't even shed a single tear drop at her funeral. For some reason why, because I unable to cry, I feel like a horrible granddaughter and guilty. Again, amazingly, Joanna and I had another in common.
Another passage that I really like and is so emotional, that ironically, I even cried. The passage is about Joanna's love. However, beforepresenting the passage one must know Joanna's background. Joanna has been in love with Sarbast since the moment she laid eyes on him. Joanna secretly began to love and admire him since the age of fifteen, until he shattered her heart into millions of pieces when Joanna was twenty-two. Sarbast had asked another lady to marry him. However, the lady rejected his proposal and after several of years, Sarbast realized that it was Joanna whom he truly loved, and began sending her letters and poems expressing his love for her. "Mother and Muna had been watching me closely for several weeks. In fact, everyone in my family was suffering along with me. Sarbast's letters and poems were getting to me. My entire body felt raw, crushed. I had become impossible, irritable... Since the day Sarbast disregarded me, an unackowledged unhappiness had been walking with me, but I had put that unhappiness in a locked compartment, and now his letters were letting it out. Remembering the agony of love's rejection, I feared its return" (152). This passage is superb! Its emotional, touching, realistic, and well written. The similes and metaphors that Sasson uses to compare Joanna's injured heart to other matters are brilliant. I even surprised myself when a tear rolled down my cheek. This section ends with Joanna questioning herslef whether she should accept or decline Sarbast's love. "Love in a Torn Land..." is like an adventure, I am glad that I chose this memoir to read.

Section 1 of Memoir (p.1-82)

The memoir that I am reading is "Love in a Torn Land: Joanna of Kurdistan: The True Story of a Freedom Fighters's Escape from Iraqi Vengeance." Although this memoir is on Joanna al-Askari, the person who wrote this is Jean Sasson. Throughout this section there are several possible themes: racism, survival, family, and love. The first section of this memoir is written on Joanna's childhood. The settings are in Bagndad and Sulaimaniya, Iraq. Joanna and her family are half Arabians and Kurdish. Her father is Arabian and her mother is Kurdish. During this time, numerous of Arabians and Iraqis hated the Kurds. If Kurds were suspected of anything at all by the Iraqi government, they were physically and mentally abused, tortured, sent to jail or prsion, or murdered. This passage shows the risks and punishments for all Kurdish people.
"New draconian laws had been passed by the government: If a Kurd was found with a pair of binoculars, he would be hung. If a Kurd owned a typewriter without special permission, he could be arrested and tried. Cameras had always been suspect, but a camera with a zoom lens could cost a Kurd his life..." (Sasson 19). These are just some of the examples of how Kurds were treated unfairly. Because Joanna and her family were Kurds, they had to be extra precautious of whatever they were doing.
Throughout this section are several similes, images, and foreshadows. A simile that I like is, "My angered hummed like slow, angry bees inside my head" (52). This simile is descriptive and full of emotion: anger and frustration. I can almost feel the anger myself. I love foreshadows! Foreshadows keep the readers stay tuned and anxious. A foreshadow that I like is, "I had no way of knowing that my brother had ventured into a risky arena that would very soon affect all our lives" (39). Instantly, I knew that something was going to happen to her brother and couldn't wait to find out.
Another passage that I like is, "Nothing was more i,portant in the Arab and Kurdish worlds than for the eldest-born son to be educated, for one day he would be responsible for the well-being of the entire family" (55). When I read this, I thought, 'Wow! Same goes for my culture.' I was surprised to have found that we had something in common, which drew me closer to this memoir. It makes me wonder if we have any more things in common.

Childhood Place

Part II: Present Perspective

Believe it or not, my favorite place since I was a child is still home sweet home. Home is still a place where I can eat an endless amount of ramen noodles. Home is still a place where I can find these noodles in our middle and bottom cabinets. The scent of sweet, white, asian rice steaming from the rice cooker as I enter the door is always there when I get home. The sound of my mother's warm but loud voice as she greets and opens the door for me. The expression of my father's exhausting but happy to be home look on his face when he walks in the door. Home is the only place where I can go to bed at three in the morning and not get out of bed until two in the afternoon. Home is the only place where I can place my feet on the couch and "criss cross apple-sauce." Home is the only place where I can blast my Big Bang music and dance however I want when I'm home alone. Home is the only place where I want to be at and with my family. Home is irreplaceable and that's why I call it home sweet home. My favorite place of all places is home sweet home.