The Poetry Corner

We Are Accused Of Terrorism

By Nizar Qabbani

We are accused of terrorism If we dare to write about the remains of a homeland That is scattered in pieces and in decay In decadence and disarray About a homeland that is searching for a place And about a nation that no longer has a face About a homeland that has nothing left of its great ancient verse But that of wailing and eulogy About a homeland that has nothing in its horizons Of freedoms of different types and ideology About a homeland that forbids us from buying a newspaper Or listen to anything About a homeland where all birds are always not allowed to sing About a homeland that out of horror, its writers are using invisible ink About a homeland that resembles poetry in our country Improvised, imported, loose and of no boundaries Of foreign tongue and soul Detached from Man and Land, ignoring their plight as a whole About a homeland to the negotiating table moves Without a dignity or shoes About a homeland That no more has steadfast men With only women therein Bitterness is in our mouthsin our talkin our eyes Will draught also plague our souls as a legacy passed to us from ancient times? Our nation has nobody left, even the less glorified No one to say "NO" in the face of those who gave up our homebread and butter Turning our colorful history into a circus We have not a single honest poem That has not lost its virginity in a ruler's Harem We grew accustomed to humiliation Then what is left of Man If he is comfortable with that? I search the books of history For men of greatness to deliver us from darkness To save our women from fires' brutality I search for men of yesterday But all I find is frightened cats Fearing for their souls From the authority of rats Are we hit by national blindness Or are we suffering from color blindness We are accused of terrorism If we refuse to perish Under Israeli tyranny That is hampering our unity Our history Our Bible and our Quran Our prophets' land If that is our sin and crime Then terrorism is fine We are accused of terrorism If we refuse to be wiped out By barbarians, the Mongols or the Jews If we choose to stone the fragile security council Which was sacked by the king of caesuras We are accused of terrorism If we refuse to negotiate the wolf And reach out for a whore America is fighting the cultures of Man Because it lacks one And against the civilizations because it needs one It is a gigantic structure but without a wall We are accused of terrorism If we refuse current times Where America the arrogant the mighty the rich Became a sworn interpreter of Hebrew.