When I Forget
Remind my son
when I forget his name,
that I knew it before he was born.
Remind the love of my life
when I no longer know who he is,
that I made a vow to love him
to the end of my days.
Remind my sisters
when I become lost not knowing where I live,
to water the flowers in my garden.
Remind my friends
when I forget who I am,
that I was always there;
in good times and bad.
Remind my grandchildren
when my legs forget how to walk,
that I used to dance
to beautiful Arabian music.
Remind my nephews and nieces,
when I forget the many memories I made;
they are all captured in photographs,
in poems and in stories I shared.
Remind my caregivers;
in my younger years,
I was a care provider
and treated my patients
with dignity, tenderness, and care;
I hope they do the same.
When I forget how happy I used to be,
remember how the simple,
free things
brought me joy.
Hugs from friends,
and sitting on my porch swing
made me happy.
Remember how chirping birds
were a symphony to my ears.
Watching sunrises, sunsets
and waves rolling onto shorelines
always made me happy.
Drinking tea,
writing and reading made me glad.
Hiking in the forest,
nature sounds
and touching trees
made me feel so alive.
So, when I recall none of these things,
do not forget that I am a poet;
the one who wrote this poem.
© Lozan Yamolky
From: Counting Waves
By: Silver Bow Publishing 2017
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Published by Lozan Yamolky
First and foremost, I would like to acknowledge that I humbly live on the traditional, unceeded territories of the səlil̓wətaʔɬ (Tsleil-Waututh), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish) & xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) Nations. Thank you for allowing me to live on your land —Vancouver, BC Canada.
I am a Canadian citizen who migrated from Kurdistan —Present day Northern Iraq, in 1995 after spending over a year as an asylum seeker in Turkey.
I was born and raised in Baghdad in 1972, I am the fifth of eleven children; three boys and seven girls –one brother passed away in infancy.
I am the author of ( I’m No Hero) and ( Counting Waves ) published by: Silver Bow Publishing. I am dedicating my third book of poems ( Dreamers Needed ) to my teenage boys, Trey, 15 and Wyatt, 13.
I started reciting my poems for the first time in 2013 at The Holy Wow Poets Canada in Maple Ridge. I am currently a member of the Canadian Authors Association, Federation of BC Writers, The Royal City Literary Art Society and the Holy Wow Poets Canada. I am presently the secretary of the Royal City Literary Arts Society. I work as a freelance interpreter.
I was commissioned in the fall of 2017 to write a poem about the refugee experience to DaCapo Chamber Choir in Toronto. The event will feature my poem “I am here” in spring 2019.
I was one of the recipients of the 2018 Distinguished Poet Award from WIN– Writers International Network Canada and was 3rd place winner at the 2018 Tagore Festival Peace Poems contest. Since first sharing my poetry in 2013, I have featured in numerous poetry events throughout the Greater Vancouver area.
My work has been published in The Royal City Poets Anthologies (Silver Bow Publishing), The Royal City Literary Arts Society online magazine eZine, Wordplay at Work, Creative Quills Ink Verse (North Vancouver), Celebrate Canada 150 and Culture Days From Far and Wide (Multicultural Creative Writing Collection 2017) and the 2018 Holy Wow Poets Anthology (Maple Ridge).
View all posts by Lozan Yamolky
Lozan Yamolky 