Unless They Do

Unless They Do

Get to know the Dictator from his own Words

Unless they speak what sounds like Arabic

I would say they are crows

Unless they live in rulers’ palaces

I would say they are the rats

Unless they have the look of the humans

I would say that every one of them is a snake

Unless they have countless titles

I would give every one of them the title of coward

Unless their titles vary between the Revolution Leader to his Excellency

I would say that their titles and the garbage are the same

Unless some of them claim to belong to the prophets’ family or to the revolutionary prophecy

I would say that they and Mussailama, with our apology to Mussailama, are the same. (Late famous Arab liar from the 6^th Century who claimed to be a prophet)

Unless they all claim their folks’ fatherhood

I would say that their origins and those of their folks are never the same

Unless they claim they rule according to the law

I would say they cheated the people of their money and property

Unless they sometimes pretend they are honest, and some other times launch promises

I would say they are fraud all the time

Are they really so, or are we misjudging them

Are they really honest or agents for the foreigner?

Did they install themselves in power or were they assigned from abroad?

Did they really think they inherited the homeland and they will pass it to their sons?

Poetry by: Tarif Youssef-Agha

Houston, Texas

April 2011