Lamenting the Hanging Bridge of Dare Al-Zore

The Hanging Bridge of Dare Al-Zore (city in north-east Syria) was considered one of the spectacular monuments in Syria. It was built back in the twenties of the last century on The Euphrates River during the French mandate and was considered at that time a rare monument, not only in Syria, but also around the world. The gangs of The Assad Regime blew it up with explosives on May 2, 2013 as revenge from the city for its role in the Revolution.

Lamenting the Hanging Bridge of Dare Al-Zore

When monuments join the martyrs’ caravan

By Tarif Youssef Agha

The mandate passed by our country once

It occupied us, but it also left us monuments

Local tripe came after that and forced us to drink bitterness

So we wished the mandate never left

The mandate built on The Euphrates River

A Bridge that had nothing similar

It was a hanging bridge, and it was unique at that time

For the people of Dare Al-Zore, it was their soul and flower

But then, the Assad tripe came

And it brought with it the thugs to power

They said “Either Assad or we burn the homeland”

And then they translated that into iron and fire

They pulled us centuries back,

After they stopped the time from running

They filled the palaces with all kinds of monkeys

And to keep law and order, they employed rats and bulls

They claimed they belonged to the people

But every one knew that was a lie

They corrupted the brain and heart, but also the soul

They assassinated the life, so the homeland turned into graveyards

The only thing that makes them satisfied is destroying our monuments

And also slaughtering the children, which they considered a holy sacrifice

Even the bridge did not escape their hatred

As a tall and proud palm tree, it fell, causing us pain and tears

They blew it up, along with the heritage of a nation

The one who destroys the heritage is called a traitor

Naive is the one who still claims that

Those who did all that are our homeland brothers

***

A Poem translation

Tarif Youssef-Agha

An Expatriate Arab Syrian Writer & Poet

Member of the ‘Syrian Revolutionary Writers Assembly’

Friday May 10, 2013

Eight days after the gangs of The Assad Regime blew up the Bridge

Houston, Texas

http://sites.google.com/site/tarifspoetry