The Burned Ruler
I wrote this poem in common Arabic language as a gift from my heart and conscious to the Yemeni people, especially for the Poetry Event and Mourning Dinner, Sunday September 18, 2011 in the Arab American Cultural Center, Houston, Texas, along with other poems honoring the martyrs of the revolutions in Palestine, Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Syria.
The Burned Ruler
When the Ruler doesn’t listen to the people
The day it (the revolution) started in Yemen
I told you “Oh Saleh, go”
I told you “Oh Saleh, the throne is not worth it
That your family cries over your dead body”
The day I saw your burned face
I saw the shade of death at it
Wouldn’t it be better if you had left?
Then, you would have saved yourself all these wounds
Wouldn’t it be better if you had left with your dignity?
Or was it better that you were carried out by the ambulance?
Oh Saleh, they blasted you while you were watching
The homeland was wounded by your deeds
Oh Saleh, life is not only about benefits
Yemen is suffering from pain
Isn’t it enough for you, all these people who are flooding the squares?
Just like the flood of Noah
Your reputation, as you know, is not that good
You and your family now are openly exposed
Oh Saleh, you know how salty the taste of illegal fortune is
The smell of the illegal fortune comes from you and your family
Stay where you are, so you have fun with Bin Ali (of Tunisia)
If you both return, your blood will be shed
Your people like you more while you are away
Your people said that your return is not allowed
Your people said that if you return
A court will be waiting for you, and also an open grave
Oh Saleh, respect the white hair on your head
Leave your wounded people to live and heal
Oh Saleh, Yemen will not accept but to be on the summits
Yemen doesn’t want to live in the bottoms any more
The people said it clearly; they don’t want you any more
The people want to raise the country all over again
***
Poetry by: Tarif Youssef-Agha
Houston, Texas
September 2011
http://sites.google.com/site/tarifspoetry