Thoughts & Dreams

By Raji Abuzalaf

"Thoughts & Dreams" is a discrete collection of songs and poems. In the eBook version, the songs are immediately accessible by clicking on the embedded links. The compositions are classified into five sections.

SECTION I – Love & Other Ailments consists of individual love songs & poems from 1969 and onwards. They represent the ecstasy and pain that one unwittingly experiences over the years.

SECTION II – Lost And Profound reflects a myriad of states of consciousness and a plethora of emotions undergone along the journey on planet Earth. They are the fruits of "soul searches".

SECTION III – A Question Of Faith is a compilation of truth-seeking songs and poems. They recount the experiences of a regular guy and his search for God.

SECTION IV – Christmas Songs is the product of a special blessing that occurred in December, 1988. This set of original songs celebrates the birth of Jesus.

SECTION V – Tributes is a collection of works composed to honor family, friends, good causes, and various momentous events.

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Aug 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9798350912005

Book preview

Title

Copyright 2023

Roger Shafiq Abuzalaf

Illustrations and Cover Design

By Najib Joe Hakim

[e-mail]

Foreword

"Thoughts…like an open book

As the pages dwindle in the wind…"

In many ways, I would say I had a difficult childhood. And then again, I could say I had a great childhood.

Being Palestinian carries a lot of baggage – no matter where I would have grown up. In Occupied Palestine, I would have faced adversity from the Israeli Army and the illegal Jewish settlers who occupy Palestine until today. That adversity would come in the form of daily tyranny resulting in placid submission (not for me), detention, or even death. If I grew up in Israel or any Arab country, I would have faced discrimination and the shame of being a third class citizen. That is precisely what my father experienced in Kuwait where I was born. Being a non-Kuwaiti (especially a Palestinian) and a non-Muslim was a double whammy.

So Dad found a way to immigrate to the United States – the land of opportunity – where I was raised amidst varying sorts of prejudice. In the early sixties, I didn’t quite fit into the poor neighborhood where we first lived in Houston, Texas. I was neither Black nor White and was cursed with a funny last name and freckles. In the late sixties, we moved to a redneck neighborhood. My name still drew scornful attention, but not as much as my frizzy hair. Finally, in the early seventies, we moved to a predominantly Jewish neighborhood. What irony! I was accepted by my Jewish peers as an equal hippie. Thank God for the movement of enlightenment during those times. Regardless of which school I attended however, I was always the focus of jealousy and ridicule for being a straight-A student. Looking back, I admit I was a bit nerdy, and my fellow students looked upon me as such. Of course, that ceased when my personal enlightenment phase caused my respect for the Establishment and therefore my interest in academia to wane.

My parents had been indescribably proud of their valedictorian son for so many years. They bragged on me to family and friends alike. My father broke his back and his pocketbook to provide us with a roof over our head, decent clothing, and healthy nourishment. And though he would regret it later, he recognized my aptitude and love for music, so he bought me a cheap guitar at the age of eight. When I hit junior high school, I immediately developed an affinity for rock and roll. This coincided with my appreciation for girls, cigarettes, and eventually drugs. That was the beginning of my greatest childhood difficulty – an intense controversy with my father.

Our relationship was further aggravated by the introduction of Keith Adams into the mix. He and I met in our homeroom class at Spring Woods Senior High School in Houston, Texas in 1969. We quickly became friends and discovered a unique synergy early on through songwriting. We promptly formed a rock band and began producing songs and poems galore. This collaboration formed the basis of a permanent bond between us. It also gave my father a scapegoat that he could blame for my juvenile malfeasance.

The association Keith and I enjoyed with girls was one main influence in our compositions. But let’s not forget that we were both children of the sixties. Social and political transformation was a potent theme for anyone who paid attention. Subsequently, the seventies and eighties brought on maturity in a plethora of expressions. Ultimately and thankfully, the love of Jesus became our main inspiration.

The number of songs that we generated as young teens in a short period of time was incredible. What was even more astonishing was that neither of us could read a musical note, and yet we were able to memorize lyrics, tunes, chords, beats, and arrangements even into our old age! I was fortune to be able to document many of our songs and poems in a series of five books that I published circa 2013. The publications included many works that I wrote on my own and in association with Aaron Coleman, Larry Parker, and others. The books are available at well established distribution media. The songs are free for the listening on major music sites. In this publication, those poems that evolved into songs are recorded and published for the public on soundcloud.com. Their URL addresses are included just below the song titles.

Thoughts & Dreams is a discrete collection of my songs and poems which are not published elsewhere. Whether for posterity, progeny, publicity (or other p words I can’t think of right now), I felt that these handiworks required proper documentation. Above all, I thank God for the blessings and trials in my life. Both types of experiences have greatly influenced my writing. And it is only fair that I express endless gratitude to Keith, Aaron, and Larry for their positive energies and inspiration in my life.

I made an attempt to intelligently classify these works into five sections. Each section is presented in alphabetical order. Poems are dated and / or dedicated where applicable.

SECTION I – Love & Other Ailments consists of individual love songs & poems from 1969 and onwards. These represent the ecstasy and pain that I unwittingly experienced from the unfairer sex over the years.

SECTION II – Lost And Profound reflects a myriad of states of consciousness and a plethora of emotions I