The Time of Frogs

The Time of Frogs

By Tarif Youssef-Agha

We have lived long enough to witness the Time of Frogs

Where the whole world is great in croaking

Between those countries who call themselves ‘The Friends of the Syrian people’

And those individuals who claim to represent the opposition of Assad

The sound of their croaking is shaking the foundations of the Earth

Between a condemnation here and a worrying there

The sound of their croaking is blocking the ears and preventing

The world from hearing the cries for help from the (Syrian) victims

They are all similar by launching bubbles

As I see, all of them swimming in the same swamp

I won’t be shocked if my enemy comes to kill me

Nor if the tyrant oppresses me

But I will be shocked if he who calls himself a friend is

In fact, a partner in shedding my blood

Still, he comes and annoys my ears with his croaks

Claiming that his heart is weeping over my pain

I will also be shocked when I see someone who calls himself an opposition

While he is, in fact, just hungry for positions and titles

And that who calls himself a servant for the revolution

While he is, in fact, just buying and selling

Oh my Syrian people, may God stand with you

You are the party that is suffering the most

Your calamity has even increased with those who are called ISIS

Those who recruited every thief and a street thug

They agreed to be like a dagger in your back

Your back became a stabbing target for everyone

So spit on them all and don’t exclude any

If you don’t mind, oh Syrian people

***

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 July 4, 2014, Houston, Texas

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