Voice of the Emancipated Woman

A spark of hope
Has crossed my heart at last!
A heart that must taste true happiness
After having drunk of suffering.

My heart has seen many colors
And many different sounds of sorrow,
But it has not known hatred,
It no longer feels the pains!...

And now a gentle flame
Has shone in the depths of my soul
To absorb and to erase
The dark traces of the past.

Freedom has gladdened me;
With tears I have paid for it;
This is what Heaven has offered me
After I had suffered much.

Salma Haffar Kouzbari
Damascus