I read a lot of History
I read a lot of History
By Tarif Youssef Agha
I read a lot of History about
Liars and traitors like Al-Alkami and Musailuma (from the Arabs’ History)
And about mass war criminals like Hulagu and Tamerlane (Mongol conquerors)
Who made their food and drink from human flesh and blood
And about those who betrayed even prophets
As Judas (Iscariot) who handed over The Son of Mary
I read and read and read, but I haven’t read about
Someone who handed his homeland to the enemy
Or about someone who shelled his country with chemical weapons
And sat fire in all its corners
Or about someone who forced millions of his people
To flee their homes
I read about someone who committed massacres against foreigners
But not against his own people
All that, while the whole world is doing nothing
Just as if it is suffering from deafness and blindness
A world that invites the butcher to conference after conference
Instead of taking him to the court
Oh you cowards, but these are the people of Syria
The people who taught the whole world heroism and sacrifice
Call it a civil war or call it what you like
But our people swore to complete their revolution
They finally retrieved their stolen dignity
And signed an eternal contract with freedom
***
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 April 18, 2014, Houston, Texas
http://sites.google.com/site/tarifspoetry