This is titled "You Fixed It", and it really is about growing
up in Tripoli, Lebanon, during the Civil War.
But it sadly resonates today as Israel bombs Lebanon as well.
It's titled "You Fixed It".
And if the compass broke, you fixed it.
Fastened the pencil to it with a rubber band.
And if there was no hot water, you fixed it.
Learned to sit on that plastic stool in the bathroom and count.
And if it was too cold outside, you fixed it.
And there was the smell of burnt lemon on the brassiere
Or the click, click, click of the gas heater.
And if you were bored, you fixed it.
Learned to cut paper and color the scraps,
Learned to write on the walls.
And if you wrote on the walls, you fixed it.
Scrubbed them with your mom who yelled at your big brother
who what on Earth was he doing just watching?
And if the TV blurred, you fixed it.
Adjusted the antenna to catch those Japanese cartoons
translated into Arabic on the Syrian Channel.
And if you didn't have enough books, you fixed it.
Read that French-Arabic dictionary
the size of your torso,
Stared at the words crépuscule and شَفَق.
And if you tripped on the missing tile, you fixed it.
Learned to count your steps in the dark afternoon
without electricity.
And if there was no electricity, you fixed it.
Gauged how dark it was by whether or not
you could see your thumb.
And if you couldn't see your thumb, you fixed it.
Got the candle from under the sink,
And if the sink was leaking, you fixed it.
Tied a cloth to the pipe,
And if the pipe burst, you fixed it.
Pressed your palms against the hole in the wall until mom
called the grocer to call the butcher
to call the plumber next to him.
And if there was a hole in your sock, you fixed it.
Learned to fold it under your big toe.
And if your window shattered, you fixed it.
Taped cardboard to the frame.
And if someone died, you fixed it
by telling stories about how crusty their lahm bi 'ajeen was.
And if the lahm bi 'ajeen was too crusty,
you fixed it by dipping it in the tahini.
And if your sorrow hardened, you fixed it
by dipping it in seawater.
And if your country hardened, if your country hardened,
you fixed it by dipping it in song.
[AUDIENCE CLAPPING]