One's Steps

Three stages of one's life

Render one's steps decisive:

Knowing themselves more.

Why I Write Poetry

A long time ago, I used to write only articles and sometimes short stories. But I never thought of writing poems one day even though I had so much cherished this genre of writing more than any other kind. Only when I read “a Bird Came down the Walk” by Emily Dickinson and enjoyed it so much did I make my mind to join poetry and write poems like any other poet. Since then, I have always taken the greatest delight in doing so. At first, I was told by my professors that writing poems is so demanding a task and needs more life experiences and wide travelling than we think. However, having read Dickinson many times has totally changed this misconception and ultimately led me to take the initiative.

The poem has become a turning point in my literary life. Here, I will try to interpret it line by line. We all know that Dickinson as a poetess was known to have been reclusive and home-ridden. My point here is that contrary to popular belief, we do not need many experiences or to travel the world to become poets. All that we are in need of is to develop a keen observation of any object, and fortunately no one can deny that everyone has got a certain amount of it.

Alone, the poetess in question once sat alone beholding different things out of her window. All of a sudden, she saw a little bird coming down the walk next to her house. Not having any contact with people and not travelling the world before, Dickinson usually seized such opportunities so as to write a new poem on the scene being observed. She was always in dire need of the material and despite that she always came up with really fine poems.

Amongst her best poems is this one here. The fact that she was able to write poems without any previous experiences is living proof that anyone can write poems on condition that he or she observes anything keenly enough. Also, reading widely was of paramount important to her writing career as a poetess. Some people might think that life experiences are a must in order to write fine poems. For me, wide reading in any language and keen observation would suffice. Then, through poetry, anyone can openly express himself about different aspects of life. This is why I have so far written mainly poems.

Coming back to how the poetess imparted crucial aspects of nature and life just through a little bird, she described every single step of the latter. In the poem, the bird perched on the ground, looked both sides to ensure he was safe, ate a worm, and drank some dew drops. Then, a beetle was passing by him; the bird immediately gave the beetle some space to pass with ease. Here, we come to know how small animals and insects lead their own lives and whether they respect each other or not. Of course, the poetess is alluding to us human beings who should respect one another and live and let live as the saying goes.

Observing the manner in which she wrote a poem on a very appealing theme” that of the bird with the worm and the beetle”, I was inspired and spurred on to do the same. There are many living organisms like a moth, a fly, or mosquito that we come across on a regular basis, but seldom do they attract attention to us. Since I read this poem, everything has begun to enthrall me. One day, I wrote two poems. One is entitled ‘the moth’ and another one, ‘the bird’. Of course, I took pains to write them because I related them to my personal life.

Different motives were behind putting pen to paper when I chose the moth and the bird as the themes. The first one was whilst reading and a moth was fluttering its wings against the light bulb. My concentration was exacerbated by that behavior to the extreme. Here, I am hinting at people who cause me or other novice writers in one way or another to abandon the reading pursuit. As for the birds, they perched on my windowpane serving as spies to take back my latest news to others. I did not welcome them either. For me, they are simply amongst my regular guests who pay me visits from time to time just to see how my room furniture is laid.

In Dickinson’s poem, the bird took fright when he heard her. She wanted to feed him with a crumb, but he shook his feathers, carefree and conceited and flew off on the spot. He was the only solace to her for a very short time, but she learnt a great deal from him. In the same way, I believe that we do not need to go abroad to attend poetry workshops or to study it at university to be great poets. One has only to read widely to master a language and start to write on everything, be it a human being, an animal, or living organisms in general; the latter teach us many moral lessons about their lives and our own.

Towards the end of the poem, the poetess discovered a queer fact about the bird. The latter is capable of flying over the water without making any splashes or noise. Afterwards, she added that when rowing in the water, he is totally different from oars and butterfly leaps in that the latter make so much noise which may disturb her creativity. What a vivid description! What a keen sensation of the movements of a flying bird! I must admit that this is mainly the point at which and where I fell passionately in love with poetry.

No One is Born Great

One of my friends once told me that eminent scientists and writers like Albert Einstein and Leo Tolstoy are born great, and as a result, I do not have to draw an analogy between them and other ordinary people. He said so to me soon after I told him that I also write articles and that other friends of mine publish their works in national newspapers and international websites.

He disagreed by saying that we ordinary people are different from these great people in that the latter are exceptions. I would say that we are surely different from them in that they have attained greatness, the thing which we haven’t yet attained ourselves. However, the fact that neither we ordinary people nor they eminent people are born great is indubitably true.

In reality, the numerous failures and excruciating experiences that these scientists underwent in their lifetime is living proof that they are not born great. Another reason is that had they been born great, they would have encountered all the stumbling blocks with remarkable ease. As we look back on their lives more closely, we, however, find that it is they who achieved greatness through constant persistence, everyday struggle with life problems, and trusting oneself. Most importantly, some of them even have more serious disabilities than ordinary people. By setting themselves that challenge, they sooner or later realize their aims. Once they do so, we ordinary people attribute their success to being born great.

I am certain that many people have already heard of Helen Keller, an American outspoken lecturer and author. Before reading about her life as a young woman, one might think that she must have been born great so as to be the author of nearly 12 books including her famous autobiography, the Story of my Life. The author in question was a victim of three handicaps: deafness, dumbness and blindness. Is the greatness we are talking about here mainly due to going deaf or blind? Certainly not. Had it been for well-being and good health, others would have at least done like her. However, the contrary is the case. Rather, her willingness to overcome her complexes has made her what she is today, an inspiring icon the world over.

The other day, a freshman complained to me that he had difficulty studying and writing in English. When I enquired about the why, he said that he is simply amongst those who do not have a flair for languages. At first, I did not get what he wanted to say. But, later on, I knew that it is this false idea he had in mind which made him reluctant to experience the challenge. Also, when I was young, I had some problems learning French, but as soon as I became acquainted with English, I didn’t have any difficulty learning the latter. This means that it was not because of lacking greatness that I was bad at French, but because either I wasn’t taught properly or I was not in interested in the subject. If I carried on believing that most people are bad at foreign languages, I would not have learned English at all.

More importantly, thinking that some people are born great is itself discouraging and uninspiring. How can people become great if they still keep the idea that only the elite few are endowed with the ability to achieve greatness? And how are students going to become great in their lives if their teachers are instilling in them that only few people like Einstein are endowed with genius at birth? For me, this is mainly what has greatly hindered many of us from thinking creatively, inventing new things, and daring to explore the uncharted ‘lands’.

Instead, I would choose Charles Darwin as the prime example of someone whom many think he is born great. If he had really been so, why did his father mortify him many times as somebody who only cared for shooting dogs and catching rats? He was also known to have been a disgrace to his father. We can see, however, that towards the end of his life, he had turned himself into one of the most revolutionary naturalist scientists of all time. Is it because he was born great that he had become what he was at the time? I do not think so. The fact that, like many others, he made of himself great on his own late in life is living proof that no one is born great.

As I Laid my Hand on hers

To her, I once said hi;
No glimpse did she cast,
But one day sitting on a bench- she and I;
No moments and memories could last;
At a loss, my feet erased the dust;
Her dress dirty, she bade me bye
An approach I deemed a must.
Before I breathed a sigh,
I turned to my lust;
Fearing to die,
I laid my hand on hers at last;
She that instant fled as fast

As a cheetah may.

A Part of my Life

Waiting impatiently for its end,
Many an experience I still have to lend
But when does it cease to be?
No one can tell except thee.
Let us part with each other then;
But before that, tell me when
Thou can no longer be seen.

The Squirrel

As he saw the coach I was in,
He climbed the cliff the fastest possible
Out of the window,
I saw him reach the apex at last;
Ah, there was now a female squirrel,too.
Gazing more closely at them,
Their whiskers they fluttered,
And their hands they waved at me.

A Hapless Girl

She looks importantly about her,

While I am arranging my eye-glasses;

Seeing me put them on,

She made for my bench;



Now I can see her seated by me;

Then I lay my newspaper on her lap.

Blushed, she flings it away,

And says she is in a rush;

Henceforth, I feel disappointed

And remorseful.

Born in a Handbag

Born with a silver spoon in my mouth;

Who carried the handbag?

And where? North or South?

I could hardly tell no matter what the time lag;

Wont to much darkness,

I once decided to depart

To where there was no harness,

And where I would draw my own cart.

A Wheelchair Drawer

It was a mere hag, weary but steady,

Drawing her olden spouse, grateful but doleful;

For remarks, bystanders were once again ready,

But their passion never subsided; they remained hopeful.

Suddenly, rain began to fall on the needy;

Out of the window, the fortunate took a coffee cupful;

In public, the couple alone turned into running, shiny water, never ending.

I Have a Book to Read

I have a book to read

And a pen to put to paper;

I have a story to recount

But I need attentive ears to listen.



How about the family to run

And the offspring to bring up?

I remain at a loss

As long as I have a book to read.

A Bleeding Pen

No matter how hard I dust,

It is dying unceasingly of rust;

Drops of blood on a blank paper

Make the pen dry and my legs caper.

A Starless Sky

A scythe into my hand to sow

the falling stars which turn sour;

As I stand and bow,

the last star tramped me for an hour;

I then begin to behold a new starless sky,

Alone, I question the harvest,

Alone and with no one to vie

to continue the quest.

To Know Something about Everything or to Know Everything about Something

Many people including authors, philosophers, teachers, scientists, language practitioners , etc. have differed as to what to do so as to master a certain field of knowledge in the most appropriate way possible. Some people have chosen to know something about everything, whereas others go on to believe that it is better to know everything about something. Each group has provided their proofs, but the fact that we are not completely certain which strategy is more effective remains questionable generation after generation. Personally, I would go for the second strategy, that of knowing everything about something. Of course, this strategy is almost impossible to put into practice. However, I would rather try to know everything about something than to know something about everything, and this is mainly due to several reasons.

To begin with, I am not against those who try to know something about everything. On the contrary, I encourage them to pursue that path, for this strategy is also effective. But for me, I always do my utmost to know everything about something even though it is so demanding on me. As a teacher and a writer in English, before attaining these positions, I have tried to know everything about my subject-matter. In this way, I will be able to teach and write effectively. Let us look at the other way around. Had I known something about English as my major, something about Arabic, something about French, I do not think I would have been able to write in English or teach in the same language.

Here, it is true that whenever I am asked about something in English, Arabic or French, I will then be ready to answer. But am I going to use one of these subjects as effectively as when I know almost everything about them? Of course not. It is simply owing to my average knowledge. However, the case is different when one knows everything about a certain field. One becomes self-confident, productive, and is always on the defensive when asked to react to a certain problem.

A jack of all trades is master at none, some say. I definitely agree. As I have experienced, many of my ex-classmates, ex-colleagues and ex-teachers know a little about different subjects. And my ex-classmates would get fair grades at nearly all the subjects. But, towards the end of their high schooling, they were hesitant about the subject they were going to major in. they were afraid they were not competent enough in a certain subject. And when they go to university, they find difficulty adapting to their profound studies. For me, it is what one can do with his major that is far more important, not what he simply knows. Certainly, one can not do anything sufficiently well unless he fully knows the ins and outs of his or her major.

I have to stress that I am not against knowing something about everything. I am simply in favour of the other way around even though none is the ultimate solution. Frankly, the latter, I believe, would be to try to know everything about something and at the same time something about everything. For me, I would suggest that one should master his field to the fullest first, then move on to know something about other fields. Unlike what some students do nowadays, they feel so enthusiastic about different fields and thus begin to learn a little from each one. They might think they are doing a good a job. And it was only after some time do they discover that it has been only a waste of time, for they will sooner or later feel that they are not competent enough to broach on a certain field as adequately as possible.

Notwithstanding, I strongly believe that one becomes a poet because he is so immersed and well-versed in poetry, that one becomes a teacher because he has concentrated mainly in teaching, and that one becomes a philosopher because he has already read countless philosophical works. But seldom do I hear of people becoming savants just because they know something about everything. It rather because they know every single fact about their subject matter that they dare to write on it and give their views confidently and eloquently.

Of course, it might be useful for ordinary people to know something about everything. Here, I mean by ordinary people those who are not interested in adding something new to different universal fields of knowledge. For instance, people who only take delight in reading poems do not have to know everything about poetry. So, it depends on one’s intent. Since there are various arguments as to what is a more effective approach to seeking knowledge, I would simply have to agree with Thomas Hardy when he advised trying to know everything about something and at the same time something about everything. One has only to do his utmost to put the latter outcome into practice.

What DEUG Holders can Do

A few days ago, as I was discussing with a colleague of mine, a teacher of Arabic and a B.A. holder, their latest strike, he said that they were calling for a promotion for their B.A. To be honest, I really sympathized with them, for they have every right to be promoted. However, to my utter astonishment, he added that unlike us DEUG holders, they are more experienced, more academically mature, and more knowledgeable. I asked him to repeat what he had just said to make sure whether he really meant it or not. He reiterated that compared to our DEUG, a first university degree, a B.A is a sign of competence, experience, maturity and knowledge. ‘That is why we have to be promoted and rewarded for our work,’ he said.

Instantly, I began to argue with him so as to convince him that DEUG holders are also competent, if not more competent than B.A. holders. Frankly, I failed to convince him, not because I did not have the proofs to prove him wrong, but because I think he is amongst other B.A. holders who have that fixed, unjustified idea of being more experienced and competent than holders of DEUG. Because of his stubbornness and out of my self-confidence about my arguments, I chose not to carry on the discussion. Below are several reasons why his statement is not always true.

First, the fact that many of my ex-classmates and ex-friends did not succeed when they sat for the entrance exam to CPR, while others succeeded is living proof that the former are more competent than the latter. Here, the former, because of their failure, have the chance to pursue their studies soon after they get their DEUG, whereas the latter, because of their success, go immediately to the training center to become middle school teachers. Second, recent studies show that most of B.A holders who are in ENS are those who failed the entrance exam to CPR. And those who succeeded in the latter are simply the ones who will not have the chance to continue their studies.

Third, ENS is a teacher training center where high school teachers graduate, and CPR is where middle school teachers graduate. To my knowledge, this has been the case for many years now. I am not suggesting that ENS graduates are less competent, nor am I favouring CPR graduates. Rather, I am simply explaining that CPR graduates or DEUG holders are not necessarily less competent in comparison with the other category. No way for drawing an analogy!

Fourth, CPR graduates are known to get the highest grades at the faculty. That is why they seize any opportunity they are offered. And it is also because they are afraid they might lose the chance that strikes once. Getting high grades enthuses them with a willingness to land any professional job. However, some ENS applicants didn’t get the grades that would qualify them to apply for CPR, the first chance. That is why they have to wait with bated breath for the second chance, ENS.

In fact, high grades are most of the time a criterion of success, and being the first one to be offered a chance to become a teacher too is usually a sign of competence. Hence, this colleague of mine should not have mistaken our first chance to become teachers for immaturity and lack of experience. We have become what we are today because of our diligence and early success. And it is a grave mistake to think that the more years one spends at university, the more experienced and competent he or she becomes.

Fifth and for the sake of clarity, I would like to stress that those who forgo the first chance in order to attain the second chance are few and far between. I deem this category an exception here. In this case, the colleague in question was amongst those who spent their university days validating modules only averagely until he was at last called on to sit for the entrance exam. By the time, fortunately for him, he had already got his B.A.

Sixth, I do not think he has to blame me for being a DEUG holder, for I am completely certain that had he too got high grades in his first years at the faculty, he would have undoubtedly joined CPR with his first university degree, DEUG. But his average marks did not allow him to do so until he got his B.A., the diploma on which he now prides himself.

Lastly, as I have experienced, I have come to the conclusion that most DEUG holders master their specialty ‘perfectly’, but not all B.A. holders do, that most DEUG holders ranked first or second at university, but not all B.A. holders do, and that most DEUG holders are approved of as great speakers and writers by their professors, but not all B.A. holders are.

Some Teachers are Also Cheaters

We all know that cheating is an action typical only of students, but to say that some teachers too cheat is contrary to popular belief. My latest conclusion that teachers too cheat dates back to my university days when some of my ex-classmates, now teachers, had recourse to cheating all the time. Though they were students at the time, I would deem them teachers who are also cheaters. It is because they are ready at any time to cheat again in their teaching career in case they are offered the opportunity to. What makes me even more spellbound is to hear that these teachers closely invigilate the students they teach. Here, no one can deny that it is so hypocritical of them to do so.

I still vividly remember the manner in which my ex-classmates cheated. Some used to ask their fellow students they sat next to ; some begged me for responses to the questions posed ; some, mainly girls, turned into creepers on the day of the exam ; some brought the essays they wrote at ease at home to class ; and some cheat by bringing with them the prompts they need to get an essay started, and strangely the latter think that this is not part of cheating. It is a pity that some of these people are now teachers. And sooner or later they are going to invigilate their students and turn their back on their past cheating experiences. They are real schizophrenics.

Actually, I am not broaching on cheating for its sake. I am rather hinting at the implications of these teachers’ past cheating experiences on their academic life and teaching career. When I was a teacher trainee, some of my fellow trainees too cheated so as to graduate. And when I became a teacher, I found that some teachers feel compelled to cheat at some exams which will entitle them to be promoted. Strangely enough, every time I discuss the matter with one of the teachers concerned, he or she would intervene to say that their case is different from that of their students. ‘Our students still have to prepare for their future ; they need to be tested and invigilated again and again, while for us, we have attained our goal,’ one of them said.

Thus far, I am still at a daze whenever I remember this teacher’s viewpoint. I believe that he forgets that his goal is not only confined to teaching, but also to serving as a model and to preparing himself too for the future where he should contribute something to their students’ lives and to the community at large. How can an ex-cheater become an active contributor and how can an ex-cheater teach something he himself did not learn, but rather used a means to an end ? Certainly, none of them can. Recently, one teacher told me that he had to cheat at pedagogy, for he was not taught or trained in that field. If this was a real excuse, he should also allow the students who were absent from his class to cheat.

No matter what sorts of excuses and pretexts they give to defend themselves, I will always attribute this inveterate addiction to cheating to their experiences at university. I swear to God that had I been in their shoes, I would have allowed my students to cheat too simply because if I do not, it would be hypocritical of me. Most importantly, these teachers do not often master their subject matter as it should be. If my memory serves me rightly, one of my fellow ex­-trainee once told me that she seldom cheated as a university student, except at grammar.

At first, I pretended not to pay attention to her previous cheating at grammar. After a certain period of time at the center, she showed me an essay that she wrote and which I began to read from start to finish. I really enjoyed her ideas and the arguments expressed in the essay, but I did not feel any cohesion as far as the sentences are concerned. I that instant discovered that she was not that adept at grammar simply because she had already cheated at it many times before. Also, towards the end of semester one, we sat for a grammar quiz, and surprisingly she did not do as well as she did at other language skills. I did not find it queer when I saw her one day having recourse to cheating at the center another time.

Sometimes, I wonder how they are going to treat their students, whether to turn their backs on their past experiences and turn over a new leaf, or to let students too indulge themselves in the pursuit. When I was a student, I used to stand in awe of all teachers, for I did not know that amongst them were those who had already gone through different cheating experiences at the faculty. However, since I became a teacher, I have fortunately come to know the ins and outs of this profession.

Those, who can not, Teach

“ He, who can, does ; he, who can not, teaches, ” said Bernard Shaw as he criticized the teaching profession. As regards this quote and as far as my teaching experience is concerned, I would like to say that I share this Irish playwright the same opinion. Most writers, poets, and users of a language in general have not worked as teachers in their life. But they have produced excellent works which teachers feel compelled to read. At first, I really had no idea what is the secret to their being excellent users of a certain language. Strangest is the fact that they only spent a short time in their school, and some of them have not even been to school before. It is only recently did I discover that those, who can, do and those, who can not, resort to teaching.

It is a truism that good teachers make a difference in the academic life of students. But this does not necessarily mean that the latter are going to produce something in their future. It is not because they do not have the necessary tools to do so, but because their teachers have not impressed on them the need to do something. And since these students, like their teachers, can not produce, the only opportunity that will be offered to them in the future is teaching. Here, I can not help remembering a friend of mine on Facebook website who, whenever I post something, kept looking for my language mistakes. At first, I thought that this person is also a writer. But later on, I found out that he is merely a teacher. His job is only to look for others’ mistakes, nothing more.

Unfortunately, some teachers do not serve as models for their students. They serve only as fault-finders and on-the­-spot error detectors. If only students knew how much delight teachers take in correcting them, and not in helping them produce! I still remember some of my ex-teachers who only showed us what do and not how to do it, for they themselves could not stand doing it. For instance, some teachers abhor the writing skill, but they force their students to write, while others can’t bear the speaking skill, but they force their students to speak in class. Of course, not every teacher does that. But most of them do. I am sure that there will come a time when the role of teachers is no longer significant to students. The latter haven’t simply discovered that yet.

When I talk about teachers, I am mainly addressing language teachers in particular. As teachers, they think that their job is only to teach. However, when one examines the ultimate function of any language, one finds that it is communication, the mother of competences. This communication can be written or oral. Now how many teachers have written in the language they are teaching? And how many teachers have given a presentation in the language they are speaking in their classes. The few elite, of course.

On the other hand, there are people who do not teach, but produce. These are writers, poets, novelists, journalists, etc. I am stunned to learn that teachers are committed readers for these people. They read their works mainly to learn from them. I believe that one must become a writer before attaining the position of teacher, and not the other way around. What does a language teacher mean? For me, it is a good user of a language and because of this, he is recruited to teach it to others. Nowadays, the contrary is the case. Most teachers teach what they know about a language, and not how to best use a language. Detecting grammar and pronunciation mistakes does not lead one towards to becoming a great user of a certain language. It is practice that counts, the thing we lack in most of Moroccan classes.

Frankly, I can not expect students to become good writers or speakers if their teachers detect mistakes and find faults. Rather, teachers should inspire their students to use the language in a communicative way no matter what sort of mistakes they make. If teachers do not do so, this means that they think that their role is only confined to correcting mistakes. The do not have to worry too much about students, for they will unconsciously polish their language with time and experience.

Let us just draw an analogy between Mohamed Choukri, a novelist, and a Ph.D. holder at the faculty on the same field, that of fiction. Choukri had not been to school before he became a writer. He had been reading voraciously in Arabic, thus managing to come up with some of the finest works in Arabic literature, whereas the Ph.D holder’s job is simply to peruse these works, study them and lastly instruct them to his students. He does so either because he wants to become like him or simply because he can not write in this language and has no other choice but to teach. The latter reason is the most common, unfortunately.

Sometimes, whenever I read another essay or a novel by a writer who has never worked as a teacher, nor has he been to school before, I find that he fully masters the language and writes exceptionally well. And since I have seldom read works written by teachers of the same language, out of curiosity, I begin to wonder who should be expected to teach this language, these writers who are good users of the language or teachers who only teach the language, but do not make use of it?

The Geniuses who Live and Die Undiscovered

" Thousands of geniuses live and die undiscovered_ either by themselves or by others, " said Mark Twain. I definitely agree with this American novelist on this idea. In our everyday life, many people live and then die without even discovering that they might have been geniuses one day in their lifetime. And others very well know that their mind is tinted with genius, but unfortunately for them, other people don’t know or recognize their being geniuses. When I was a child, I had some friends who played the guitar beautifully; when I was a student, I studied with some classmates who raised their hands every time our teacher posed a question. And when I became a teacher, I found out that some of my colleagues are excellent writers. This is just to name but a few.

The bitter reality that we daily face is that the people I have been talking about do not continue their way towards becoming geniuses for some reason or other. The main stumbling blocks are poverty, family problems, indifference on the part of teachers, etc. I had a friend who left for South Africa simply because he was forced by his family. This friend ranked second at university and his mastery of English is exceptionally good. However, before arriving in South Africa, he was shocked to find out that his B.A. degree had been stolen. From that time on, he lost hope and became despondent about his future.

His remarkable timidity too prevented him from applying for the position of teacher. When I was with him, I used to read some of his amazing articles and poems. Really unputdownable works! So few of his acquaintances and friends showed interest in his creativity. Now he is working in a hotel in South Africa. The other day, he gave me a call to tell me that he had turned over a new leaf and began to make money. Concerning his much cherished pursuits, reading and writing, he added that he gave up them altogether and said that he and his family needed financial support.

I was so sad to hear all these incidents that befell this close friend. During our university days, we promised each other that we would one day do post-graduate studies together. I can describe this friend as the genius who lived undiscovered by others alone. To my consternation, I learned from him later on that he would not come back to Morocco until he made enough money to set up a business in his native country, he said. I was that instant certain that all his hopes were dashed and that the only goal left for him was to start a family and settle down. And that was exactly what he said he would do once he returned.

Fouad is another friend of mine who was a painter and a sculptor. I always pay him visits in his workshop. I was transfixed by his amazing paintings which describe almost every aspect of nature and life, such as rivers, cascades, trees, limp beings, sight and hearing loss, to name but a few. I still remember that whenever I raised a topic, he would indirectly reply to me by painting a picture illustrating my ideas. For instance, I mentioned “ latent geniuses ” to him one day, and after some time, I saw a drawing hung on his house corridor illustrating a brick-layered floor. Some of the red bricks are peeling off, changing their colour. The mystery to me here is that some spots began to appear blackish and others whitish.

The calamity that befell Fouad was that he was once visited by a wealthy ex-neighbour who lived abroad. the latter suggested that Fouad give him all the paintings and drawings so as to publicise them in a foreign country. This, he told him, would bring him acclaim and fame. For seven years now, poor Fouad, had not heard anything from the wealthy man. Because he had naively confided in that man, he was no longer keen on, or fond of, painting and sculpturing. He lately got married to a young girl. The latter sometimes by mistake throw away his new attempts at this art. This added to his despondency and later on resulted in complete, definite withdrawal from this pursuit.

I might well describe this friend as a genius who lived undiscovered by both himself and others. Had he discovered the genius inside him, he would not have stopped painting and sculpturing. This brings me back to another friend of mine who disowned writing in English to become a primary school teacher of Arabic and French. It was my professors’ fault, he said to me when I enquired why he abandoned his speciality and chose another one. This friend used to publish fine articles in a English-language newspaper, but when he joined the training center, he stopped doing so.

The fact that he was married did not allow him to attend classes on a regular basis. And surprisingly, he most of the time got excellent grades. However, in his second year, there were some professors who deemed class attendance a must. And as a result, they gave him very low grades, not because he deserved them, but because these professors were too indolent to correct the exam papers. They thought that class attendance and participation would suffice. Because of this misfortune, he had no choice but to become a primary school teacher. He admitted that he unconsciously abandoned English, the language he used to write in and that it was too late to brush up on it.

This man is also amongst geniuses who once lived undiscovered mainly by himself. It is a real pity that these people’s likes are countless. And the crux of the matter lies in that they are undiscovered either by themselves or by others. Here is a poem I once wrote about the same topic.

The Footsteps

Hooves tramping
Through the bushes they made their way;
Then a neigh,
By the camping.

A starlit night,
A movement of the clatter,
Kindled a light,
And shook the border.

A slumber in the tent
Kept me alert.
An image later sent
Myself then wide awake.

Seeking Success

When I was seven, I never knew what success meant. All I knew was that I should be approved by my teachers. And now I can see that this approval I cherished at that time was merely success. I was seeking success, but did not know what it was for, nor did I know how to seek it. And everyone at some point in his or her life has already sought success. When we were at that age, our teachers very well knew who deserved success and who did not. As pupils, we were not as aware of feeling success at the time as we are today. Here, the notion of success varies with time and age.

As I was groping for some quotes about success by Mark Twain the other day, I came across a very intriguing one which might make some of us hold our heads in awe because it may appear out of place at first. It runs thus: All you need in this life is ignorance and confidence; then success is sure. I spent some time rereading and contemplating the quote until I came up with a humble understanding of it. Of course, anyone can come up with different understandings of it.

For me, like anyone else, Mark Twain, an American novelist and short story writer, experienced failure many a time before becoming a writer during both his childhood and adulthood. And only those who have already tasted the bitterness of failure can tell you what success really means and how you can attain it. This instantly reminds me of Emily Dickinson’s two powerful verses: “ Success is counted sweetest by those who never succeed”. However, this does not necessarily mean that you will surely arrive at success overnight.

Coming back to Mark Twain, I believe that he deems success as merely something that does not need or require efforts and assiduity so as to be achieved. Ignorance and confidence suffice in this case. I am certain that at first the meaning must sound paradoxical. However, by contemplating it more closely, we find that the fact expressed here is also a truism, especially in these days. Overnight, many people succeed in many aspects of their lives without even knowing how and why. I am not blaming anyone here for becoming successful, nor am I alluding to their undeservedness. Quite the contrary, I am only talking from the point of view of Mark twain.

Twain could simply be referring to those who obtain positions without deserving them. And the category he is talking about here are known to be ignorant and confident. This means that feigning confidence without having any knowledge of one’s field or gray matter are sufficient for making money or landing a job. Here, I could not help remembering hundreds of teachers who are hired year after year. I know many students who are knowledgeable, but not confident. As far as my experience is concerned, rarely do the latter category succeed in that they do not possess the two attributes described by Twain.

In my high school, I used to fail from time to time, but could never make out why. Now I can ascribe my failure and that of others to the above-mentioned reasons. Certainly, no one can deny that those who succeed are normally confident, but not necessarily knowledgeable. The same thing can be true of ignorant and confident people. Then , I have come to the conclusion that confidence is a mere criterion whereby success is most of the time determined. As regards ignorance and knowledge, it is surely our interviewers who are expected to opt for one of these remaining criteria along with confidence.

It is so sad to hear of people being victims of these criteria. The impact of this lies in that making an effort to attain success in life will no longer concern, or appeal to, aspiring or rather latent geniuses. While trying hard to let go of this thorny issue, I unawares came up with a simple poem touching on the same topic. It runs thus:

By the Bridge

Listen! water is permeating through the rocks
No passer-by pays any heed;
Their attention I frankly need
To figure out our lock.

A ripple I instantly made,
Lest somebody should see the difference
Alas, I was shown the same indifference;
Maybe I would rather seek some other aid.

The minute I crossed it,
Hurriedly everybody came,
Asking what had become of me
Nothing in particular, I answered.
It is merely a riddle figured.