BARAKAT

H.O.M.E

بيت — Bayt – (Home)

In this illustration, I feature the word بيت — the Arabic for house or home.
I draw the word itself, constructing space out of letters —
a house built from language.

This calligraphic composition is an invitation
to contemplate the depth of the poetic meaning behind home.

We hear many familiar phrases —
it became so trendy until it lost its meaning:
Home is where love is, or where the heart is.

But let us ask:
What is home for a displaced person?
What is home for the homeless?
What is home when you don’t feel at home in your own body?
What is home when you are not here, and not now?

And if I were to play with it, I would suggest saying:
Home is where I am —
to leave space for that I AM-ness to rest and be.

Here, I also remember what Gaston Bachelard wrote
in The Poetics of Space:

“The house shelters daydreams,
it protects the dreamer,
and allows one to dream in peace.“

Barakat