A Song of Iraq

in #poem7 years ago

I composed this poem in 2012, during the Iraq war. At that that time, it bore the subtitle «رسالة إلى باراك أوباما» ("A Letter to Barack Obama"), and I dedicated it to those who had been displaced by the war. Though six years have passed and a new President is in office, I feel that the message is still as relevant in an era of uncertain times.

The references to Karbala and Eden (classically said to have been between the Tigris and Euphrates), are intentional.


Karbala, 1932
Source: wikipedia.org. License: Open Domain

Come, O Adversary, while the night is young—
For among the flames, my heart is already ablaze.
Fire your bullets, O Impostor, while you still can,
For we may meet beneath the morn's dawning rays.

Our mothers' tears have nourished the soil —
Martyr's blood has watered the trees of conscience;
And forests of grief will grow from seeds of shrapnel,
In this Eden you've reduced to ashes.

Karbala's memory hides inside my passions —
My soul's fortress conceals this timeless devotion.
So, come, O Adversary, while there's still time
For I shall remain, even until the last explosion.

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A very topical poem, considering this was made between the U.S.-sponsored invasion and occupation of Iraq and the ascendance of the Daish. Hopefully Iraq's future is bright and more secure under the leadership of Muqtada Sadr, who is viewed as a hero against the U.S. invasions, and one of the first leaders to mobilize a front against the Daish (while the Baghdad government, with all their top-line U.S. equipment and training, dropped the ball).

Although I have my doubts about the man, considering his recent actions.