Tears for the Souq of Damascus
On the road to Damascus
I dreamed of the Souk
The delicious biscuit, barazeh
The over powering smell of maazoot
Souk El Hamadeyeh’s narrow lanes
Shoulder rubbing lanes of fabric
Copperware, clothing, underwear
The silversmiths, surely do reign
Traditional foods and modern cuisine
Great fashion and jewellery
Syria, home of pure cotton
High-rise buildings add to the scene
Mar Yohanna’s historical church
Now a mausoleum
The ancient culture of bathhouses
With so many hot pools
The roadways travelled into Damascus
Included Lawrence of Arabia
History that was made in Damascus
The oldest capital city in the Middle East
The hustle bustle at each roundabout
The Souk’s coffee carts and peddlers
An adventure to El Souk El Hamadeyeh
One will never forget
Sadly Damascus, partially razed
History and antiquities on the ground
Return to your people, Damascus
Allow their hearts to pound
In 1979, Suzanne Packer, a media/education consultant, moved to Lebanon from New Zealand with her two young sons and her husband at the time. Tears for the Souq of Damascus was taken from ‘Simply Thinking, Dreaming, and Things’, Suzanne’s second book of poetry, published in 2016. Suzanne now lives in Melbourne.
Email contact: Suzanne Packer <suzannemaraea@gmail.com>
From ‘Beloved Syria – Considering Syrian Perspectives’, 2nd Issue, September 2017