Running out of bread after having it at the table’s center from hundreds of years, Lebanese people are hungry.  Famine brought millions to their knees as COVID- 19, economic crisis, political unrest, and deeply rooted corruption stripped everything away from everyone

The Taste of Caviar

The taste of caviar has never been so... sweet!

Silky black diamond beads, tiny, and glistening,
softly caressing my tongue, emanating, and exuding
the mysterious taste of the deep dark sea down under;
so calm and velvety above over, under the moonlight.

A taste so curious, so... indefinable.

Sprinkled atop unsalted crackers and butter,
each bite is, momentarily, a different flavor, blasting my taste buds,
developing on my tongue,
lingering soon after.

I lick my fingers always wanting more.
Always having more, until the bowl of butter empties down clean.
Little did I know that bowl never replenished itself, and neither could I it.

Plate of crackers devoured until its last crumble.
Little did I know that plate never replenished itself, and neither could I it...
for a while.

The final delicacy down to its last bead stuck between my teeth…
Unable to pop it open, unable to spit it out.

And, boy did I know, that flavor never left my mouth,
as I imagine it every day,
wanting... someday,
hoping... someday,
praying... someday,
believing... one day,
that the taste of caviar will no longer be so...distant.

Nour Rouhana is a 22 year old Lebanese architect who loves transformational art in all its forms. To her, it creates emotions out of thin air and transforms them into spaces and words. Creative writing is truly a fundamental hobby of Nour’s that gives her so much joy and freedom to create.