They Said to Syria 'You Have to Choose'
They said to Syria ‘You have to Choose’
By Tarif Youssef Agha
They said to Syria ‘You have to choose between this one who claims
He is the Emir and that one who claims he is the infinite leader’
This one is a criminal who calls himself a Caliph
And titles all his opponents as “Disbelievers”
The other one is also a criminal who kills people according to their identities
And heads a gang which contains the worst of the thugs
This one whips, stones and beheads
He and his organization are still wrapped by mysteries
The other one drops explosive barrels, demolishes and forces people to flee
He is still insistent to burn the whole homeland
One of them came from the unknown
And his followers are thieves and killers, but still call themselves “The chosen”
The other one sold his country to the Iranians and the Russians
He, like his late dad, the seller of the Golan, works as a broker
If I’m asked to evaluate the Caliph and the President
I wouldn’t find a better word than “Muggers”
As war criminals, they both deserve to be executed
But they also deserve, as Satan, to be stoned
Syria says ‘No one will choose for me’
I will not be put to choose between a slaughter and a butcher
There will no place on my land for these criminals who
Use the religion as an excuse to oppress others
Nor for those killers who sold the homeland and made peace with the occupier
Then marched with their army to fight their own people
I will have no place also for thieves or slaves
I will only be the homeland for the people of freedom and honor
And you, the writers of the revolution, don’t give up and don’t leave me alone
It is your responsibility to light the way and cheer up with your words and poems
***
A Poem translation
(Can be shared without permission)
By Tarif Youssef-Agha
An Expatriate Arab Syrian Writer & Poet
Member of the ‘Syrian Revolutionary Writers Assembly’
Friday October 24, 2014, Houston, Texas
http://sites.google.com/site/tarifspoetry