On Toronto
By Lobna El Gammal
Identifies with the nation of Egypt
Toronto’s skyline blurs, morphs itself into the shape of my body and asks if it can hold me the way Cairo does, firmly at my waist.
Something between an embrace and a tackle, somewhere between freedom and captivity, firmly at the shore.
Except Cairo never asked.
Lobna El Gammal is an Egyptian and Canadian (first-generation immigrant) who dabbles in literature, poetry, and things creative at the intersection of Art & Science. She is an engineer committed to energy technology “by day” – as they say- and a poet “by night”, though these can often reverse. Lobna’s poetry is inspired by: art, science, nature, the diaspora experience, the Islamic faith, the Arabic language, Palestinian resistance, and sometimes things more random like croissants and insects. She has called many cities home, and at the moment it is Dublin, Ireland. Lobna prays that her writing is seen as a labour of: obedience to God, development of self, and love for communities that have and continue to shape her.