Lost in Translation
To my Grandfather Abdul-Kareem. Thank you for reminding me of the power of words and the love which sustains them. For my words and the passion which drives them, I have only you to thank.
Lost in Translation
A robustly concerted gaze is soothed beneath the veil of time but your words endure eternal. Hands worked to the bone are muddied by the soil of your homeland, but the words they have come to scribe endure eternal.
Your words are but a whisper in these untrained ears, who long to immerse themselves in the sheer power of your native tongue. I continue to firmly grasp the remnants, of which, are lost in translation. They whisper to me as my own words come to be. Expending the energy of a chiselling hand to rock, they remind me of how you transcend them. You are more than an elderly man with words. You are heart. You are mind. You are soul. Each embrace and each kiss to hand uniting me with my ancestors. A magic that is unprecedented.
An unshakable frame of stone, now shaken by your own mirrored words, these words endure eternal. A Demeanour of Leadership coerced by the villainous hands of fate, your words reign over you, they remain eternal.
Fear not that these words subdue me from you. As enthralling as they remain, I remain enthralled by you and all you have always been. I look beyond what is lost in translation and I feel the loving presence that is you. Even now as my own words lose themselves to foreign space and time, I know that you will find me. I know that you will always find me, just as I have come find you…lost in translation.
Hamed Sabawi
Abdul karim 
I believe I have found what had been lost in translation, a sincere love, admiration and deep appreciation by a grateful grandson for a unique distinguished grandfather. Hamed junior, has really discovered the true power of words, thus he challenged the hectic movement of time towards overwhelming the solid genuine old with the restless constantly changing new. He, no doubt has defeated the crazy calls for detaching from the past, and successfully built a bridge of gratitude and understanding between an impressive successor and an inspiring ancestor, with his heart touching lost in translation.
From Admin: Thank you Saadou, your comment captures the story so well. Of course this is not only Hamed’s story but that of millions of people who were either exiled or forced due to economic hardships, political turmoil or natural disasters to leave their native homeland and to rais their young in foreign lands.