Beteen Gaza and Syria
By Tarif Youssef-Agha
They shelled it with everything you can imagine
They shelled it until the blood became as a falls
They leveled its houses to the ground, they turned them into ruins
The human remains were removed by baskets
They destroyed the buildings, the trees and the people
Most of those who paid the price were the children
Whole families were eliminated
Parents, sons and uncles
The killers poured their hatred and savagery into it
They killed the dreams of the people for generations to come
They divided its people into inhabitants of graves or hospitals
Or inhabitants of tents or immigration seekers
They shelled it by land, sea and air, but also
By the treachery of the dirty rulers
Some of them closed the borders
Others supported the killers with men, arms and money
…
…
I was asked “are you talking about the land of dignity; Gaza?”
“Or are talking about the land of heroes; Syria?”
I said “I’m talking about both of them, as our killer is one
Our killer was planted among both of us to keep us divided
Two gangs who represent two sides of the same coin
They turned the paradise of our Homelands into wrecks
Two gangs who are protected by the whole world
The world condemns what they both are doing, but still has its heart with them
Oh people of Gaza and Syria, God bless you
You pledged to achieve the impossible
To fight the thugs and the beasts of the human being
And to be those who defeat them all
***
A Poem translation
(Can be shared without permission)
Tarif Youssef-Agha
An Expatriate Arab Syrian Writer & Poet
Member of the ‘Syrian Revolutionary Writers Assembly’
Friday August 8, 2014, Houston, Texas
http://sites.google.com/site/tarifspoetry