Phone Call Poem by Mohammad Yousef

By Mohammad A.Yousef

In the soft autumn glow of fading leaves,
I stood, suitcase in hand,
dreams wrapped tight like a sweater,
studying in Europe,
waving goodbye to familiar streets,
the call of opportunity beckoned me across the ocean,
bright lights flashing in a land far away.

But then,
the phone rang
and her voice drifted through the line,
a melody of warmth,
each word wrapped in love,
sinking deep,
like raindrops on thirsty ground.
"Come home, " she whispered,
and for a moment,
the world slipped away
in that one phone call,
everything changed.

The plans I laid like stepping stones,
the visions of bustling American city streets,
all faded into echoes of memory.
I felt a pull to my roots,
the scent of spices wafting through a sunlit kitchen,
the laughter of family gathered around,
the memories of every sunset painting the sky
with colors only Syria could know.

So I returned,
to a country of mixed tales,
where beauty twined with struggle,
where bread could be sparse,
but love swelled like a river rising in spring.
I fought my way through days that felt long,
hustling in markets filled with voices,
creating a symphony of survival
with scraped hands and weary eyes.

Some days were dark, like murky waters,
and I stumbled,
carrying hope like a fragile bird.
But there, among the whispers of the past,
I found treasures unseen—
the kind of love that knows your scars,
that lifts you higher
when everything else feels heavy.

I made my way through narrow alleyways,
the laughter of children dancing in the air,
savoring the taste of impossibility,
a crust of bread shared,
a smile hiding in the corners,
each simple day an act of bravery.

My heart learned to stretch, to anchor,
as the world churned around me,
unpredictable, harsh,
but I found beauty in every struggle,
strength in every bite.
With open hands, I embraced the fight
for love, for light, and for life—
my life, remade in the softness of connection,
the warmth of a simple homecoming.

That one phone call, echoing still,
changed my path entirely,
no longer just dreams of a distant shore,
but real moments, joy wrapped tight with pain,
building a future where love thrived,
through every challenge, every breath.

In Syria, I became more than what I dreamed,
an unyielding spirit in the face of the storm,
chasing horizons forged from grit,
heart entwined with the richness of kin.
What was once a farewell
grew into a glorious hello,
as I found my life not in one place,
but scattered in the laughter,
in the struggles,
and in the love that brought me back home.