Oh Syria, what a pride
Oh Syria, what a pride
By Tarif Youssef Agha
Oh Syria, all that I know about you is
That you are the address for national pride
I never knew you to sleep with humiliation
You are the master of dignity and bravery
Anyone who didn't hear the thunder of your glories
Must be deaf
Every time armies invaded you
You sent them back after coloring them with blood
Every time thugs ruled you
You made them drink from the cup of regret
You mopped the floor with them
And kicked them from one foot to the other
Every time a ruler shoots you with an arrow of injustice
You respond to him with lava
Every time a ruler thinks he is bigger than you
He discovers he is a dwarf and son of a dwarf
In wars, you do not lack spears
But in peace, you write civilization with ink
In revolutions, you have swords that forgot their scabbards
And men who swore not to break an oath
These are your habits how to deal with invaders and dictators
Never changed in the past or present
You made a lesson out of them
They all fell, but you still possess the top
***
Tarif Youssef-Agha
An Expatriate Arab Syrian Writer & Poet
Member of the ‘Syrian Revolutionary Writers Assembly’
Houston, Texas
Friday November 9, 2012