They
They
By Tarif Youssef Agha
They are the ones whose speeches are considered immortal
While not a single one of them can put a meaningful sentence together
They are the ones whose visits are classified as historical and amazing
But when history can talk, it will classify each one of them as a pimp
They are the ones whose graves are turned into sacred shrines
These graves will be transferred one day into latrines
They are the ones who sleep on silk and ostrich feathers
While most of the people sleep on braziers
They are the ones who say nothing but garbage
But think that it is jewelry
They are convinced that their words are prophecies
But there is an obvious resemblance between their words and (chewing air)
They are the ones who think that they are the masters and the people are the slaves
They forget that the people, in the end, will always be the triumphant
They are the ones who keep claiming resistance and heroism
But massacre blood never stops dropping from their fingers
They are the ones who keep moving people to jails
But here are the people today moving them on buggy’s
They are the ones who said they would rule forever
But we see each one of them today flying away
They are the ones who oppressed the people, but when it was their turn
They said that it is a world conspiracy
They accused the whole world to be against them
They gambled with the fate of their people and the world
They suppressed their people for decades, but they don’t know
Why the people today are revolting against them?
They are the ones who made their people hate the homeland
Half of the people are chased and the other half are in exile
They are the ones who made smuggling their career
They came as low as cigarette smugglers
They are the ones who stole, smuggled, bribed and became rich
Corruption became something that all of them do in the open
They are the ones who made a “blood-shedding” a virtue
Until they started bragging how many they killed
They are the ones who used the thugs to terrify their people
Besides thugs, they even used mercenaries and whores
It is only them, when they talk about killed children
They keep joking and laughing
They are the ones who turned the schools and stadiums
Into prisons, jails and detention stations
They are the ones who humiliated the people enough to explode
Whoever faces an exploding volcano, he certainly risks his life
They are the ones who mutilated the people
But now it is their time to taste the same
They are the ones who bragged about their donations and accomplishments
Which need good microscopes to be seen
We have never seen clouds coming from those rulers
So how do they claim that their time brought rain?
No ruler can hide behind a religion or party any more
No slogan will justify him, only his deeds will
Rulers lie, even when they say the truth (and they don’t)
No open roads or passages exist between our people and rulers
***
Poetry by: Tarif Youssef-Agha
An expatriate Arab Syrian Writer & Poet
Houston, Texas
Friday December 30, 2011