The World Cup and the Syrian Cup

The World Cup and the Syrian Cup

By Tarif Youssef-Agha

This is Brazil hosting the World Cup

And this is Syria hosting the Freedom Cup

Everyone is busy with the World Cup

And no one is watching the Syrian Cup

The world teams are scoring their goals openly

The teams in Syria have secret goals

Their teams are from all countries and colors

Some of our teams are pro Halesh (Party of God); some are pro Daaesh (ISIS)

In the World Cup, they kick (soccer) balls

In Syria, they kick human heads

Their audience fills the stadiums

Our audience is used to fill the mass graves

Their audience is hit with water-balloons

Our audience is hit with explosive barrels

Their players wear colorful shirts

Our players only wear blood-colored shirts

Their players are honored by being carried on the shoulders

Our players are honored in wooded caskets

Their penalties are balls kicked to the goal

Our penalties are artillery shells and ballistic rockets

The competition there is in the number of goals

But here, it is in the number of the massacres and which one is more vicious

Their referees hold international licenses

Our referees hold Russian guns

The cameramen of their games return to their homes safely

Our cameramen return to their homes in bloody coffins

Oh Syria, don’t be sad, their Cup is not for you

Your Cup is the one you are filling with human dignity

In the playoffs, all the teams of Darkness will be defeated

And your Cup will not go to any, but the team of 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 June 27, 2014, Houston, Texas

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