The Dictator & The Pen

The Dictator & the Pen

A salute to the Syrian genius cartoonist Ali Firzat, who was beaten up by a gang of (government) loyalists in Damascus, Thursday August 25, 2011

By Tarif Youssef Agha

The Cartoons said to the dictator ‘Aren’t you ashamed?’

The Poems said earlier ‘aren’t there limits to your greed?’

The Music also asked him ‘when will the disaster be lifted?’

And the Articles asked him ‘isn’t it about time for you to leave?’

They all asked him ‘did you swear to be the nation’s president,

or to kill the sons of the nation?

To save the peoples’ properties

Or to rob them

It is the free pen that is your worst enemy

You always break it when you fail to own it

The free pen was never your friend at any time

Each one tries to stop the other

The pen uses ink, you use bullets and sticks

He who can not see the difference, must have crossed eyes

The pen is used to document history

The stick exposes its user that he is the worst failure

The pen looks how to add civilization to life

The bullet always looks for death

The pens that you (the dictator) always ride are

More ignorant than illiteracy

Pens whose backs got used to the company of saddles

The brains of their holders are drier than desert

We did never hear you roaring at the enemy

The enemy did never know any better enemy than you

We always heard you roaring at your people

The leader who does that has no understanding of people

We heard you barking like a hyena and cawing like a crow

Never once we heard you neighing like an Arabic horse

Go look at yourself in the mirror and tell me

Whether you saw anyone who was dirtier

If you think the taste of ink is too bitter for you

It is because your injustice is even bitterer to the people

You scarred the face of the past and stole the present

And you killed the dreams of the future

You made the homeland look ugly

The homeland would look more beautiful without you

***

Poetry by: Tarif Youssef-Agha

Houston, Texas

Sunday August 28, 2011