“I don’t know why everyoneis still trying to find out whether heaven and hell exist.Why do we need more evidence?They exist here on this very Earth.Heaven is standing atop Mount Qasiounoverlooking the Damascene sightswith the wind carrying Qabbani’sdulcet words all around you.And hell is only four hours away in Aleppo where children’s cries drown out the explosions of mortar bombsuntil they lose their voice,their families, and their limbs.Yes, hell certainly does existright now, at this moment,as I pen this poem. And all we’re doingto extinguish this hellfireis sighing, shrugging, liking, and sharing.Tell me: what exactly does that makeus? Are we any better than the gatekeepers of hell?”

“Kamand, die every dayso you rememberto live.”

“Retrospect: the sweetener of life.”

“People don’t remember lessons. They remember stories.”

“Don’t worry if you don’t accomplish everything in this life. Fortunately, death overcomes every thing—even the very thing that tried to kill us.”

“To be wise means to know when to stay silent.”

“You might just find God in a mirror one day.”

“There are some days we can claim and there are other days that claim us.”

“I think whenever there’s potential for beauty, beauty can be found. And everything has potential for beauty.”

“You are not who you think.You're not even the thinker.You are the one conscious of the thought.”

“A man's shortcoming lies in the belief that he must always assert his manliness. A woman's shortcoming lies in the belief that she must always repress it.”