BY YACOB BERHANU
The African Maasai tribe, the sincere children of purity, who in their simplicity fathom nature’s heartbeat and breath, says, ‹‹The day has eyes, and the night has ears.›› Indeed, the night has to be a time when sentient beings tend to cling to their ears rather than their eyes. In the dead night, even a withering leaf blade rustling can raise dread in both the hunter and the hunted. Life at midnight embraces us like a hen, sleeping with one eye open, carrying doubts in the midst of fretful life.
In the dead night, every movement will be treated with an ambivalence of suspense and surprise. For the vulnerable, to escape every lurking danger, hearing becomes more essential than watching. Even cicadas’ little sounds are heard loud and clear. I love the night. Yet, I never attended bars. During the last eight years, I spent at least once every week getting up after midnight around two to observe the nightlife hidden behind each street corner of the city.
Regardless of all of this, every night’s mood still baffles me. Despite I spent hundreds of nights wandering, every time I went out for a walk, the agitation would control me like a stranger. I’m not afraid of the dark. I went for a long walk in the middle of many long nights, why do then I feel bewildered? Is it because I feared darkness would cover all the twists and turns of life with its blanket? In the dead night, no one can describe what darkness holds. Maybe the core essence of life is its ever-strangling nature. Darkness, for me, is always a fascinating, partly scary, and partly revealing phenomenon.
Moreover, for most artists, wandering was an age-old habit. Charles Dickens, especially after being hospitalized for insomnia, walked the streets of London all night long. Samuel Barclay Beckett, who diverted the world’s playwriting, perhaps even more, who transcended our apprehension of human fate in just one play, had a great passion for midnight strolls.
Beckett’s night venture faced plenty of adventures. He spent countless nights exploring Paris from east to west. On many nights he met his nocturnal friend, the Swiss-born painter, and sculptor Alberto Giacometti. Their seemingly endless argument continues until they part ways in the morning.
But on the night of January 7, 1938, something shocking happened. Samuel Beckett was walking along as usual when a man suddenly approached and stabbed him in the chest. After spending several months in the hospital, he recuperated from the brink of death. When he recovered, he went down to the prison and asked why this man, who had nothing to do with him, wanted to attack him. The answer he got was surprising and became another revelation for his understanding of the absurdity of life.
‹‹I don’t know why, sir. Forgive me!››
It is now midnight. As usual, I abandoned all my issues on the will of nature to be managed on its own accord and went out to pursue the unknown urge, to be a child of purity, to be wholly exposed to danger and willing to accept its blessing, to be like a single flower of the field, a butterfly, anything that nature destined me. I like journeying on foot. Every day, when I came out of my home for a stroll in the evening, I don’t even know where I am going forth. I just strolled down the path where my instinct led me. Since I have trained it for years, I trusted it.
Life is equivalent regardless the whereabouts of its existence, whether in New York, New Delhi, or the Omo Valley. Complete in its multidimensionality, ever strange. Yes, I love traveling… It will make me feel like drunk when I discover new places. Why not a poor slum? If it’s new, it boggles my mind. Mountains? They are in a different category! Undoubtedly, anyone who writes, paints, sings, or dances will obtain each of his inspirations from the multiplicity of his steps. If he/she walks at night, then she/he will be rewarded with a tremendous revelation.
I know one very significant thing that will go along with everyone who paddles in existence. It is wholly accepting life and becoming a sincere child of purity. Leaving everything else in nature’s palm for it to handle as it tends, I just follow my instincts and pursue my quest. Even death is an escape route if it comes with nature’s pure consent. It cannot be a punishment. Since no one can separate nature from God; I think that anyone in harmony with nature is also in communion with God.
Years passed. I walked over mountains and valleys, on bare city streets at midnight; during the evening, at dawn… A sensitive instinct that accepts all, and sympathizes with all, rose from within me. Gradually, I became aware of how my simple steps transformed my consciousness from observation to discovery. I saw a beauty covering all over the whole sphere of existence. It was beauty itself that became divinity.
Harmony
BY MENGISTEAB TESHOME
In the land of ancient roots,
Where diverse cultures flourish,
We seek to build a society,
That thrives in peace and harmony.
We strive to mend the wounds of past,
To heal the scars that long did last,
To bridge the gaps of faith and creed,
And sow the seeds of love and need.
For every heart that beats in land,
Is part of our collective stand,
To build a future bright and fair,
Where all can breathe the same fresh air
Let’s listen to each other’s voice,
And make a choice to build a rejoice,
To cherish every difference,
And turn them into our strength and essence.
As we build a harmonious land,
We hold each other’s hand in hand,
And march towards a brighter dawn,
Where love and peace shall always grown
Let us break the chains of hate,
And liberate our hearts to love.
For in unity we find our strength,
And in diversity our richness thereof.
Let us open our hearts wide,
And welcome all with open arms.
For our differences make us unique,
And our similarities bind us in charms.
Let us erase the lines of division,
And embrace each other in unity.
For we are all one human race,
Living in a world of diversity.
Let us build bridges of understanding,
And tear down the walls of fear.
For in doing so we create a world,
Where all are welcome and near.
Let us stop hate and bigotry,
And let love be our guiding light.
For in the end it is the only way,
To overcome the darkness of night
So let us stand together as one,
And make a difference in this world.
For together we can create a future,
Where love and peace are sustained
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD 21 JUNE 2023
