Yassin's Poems

WHAT DO I SEE?

In the eyes of a widow
I see the war and the killer

In the eyes of an orphan
I see the weapons dealer

In the eyes of a beggar
I see the unjust ruler

In the eyes of Easterners
I see fear, anger and tears

In the eyes of Westerners
I see drugs and depression

In the dry lands of Africa
I see the climate changing

In the melting of the Arctic ice
I see global warming

In the red eyes of my wife
I see American justice

In one eye of Kurdistan
I see Halabja and Anfal,
In the second eye I see
The map and flag
Of our non-existent country.

 

Editor’s note: Halabja is a city in Kurdish Iraq that was gassed by Saddam Hussein in 1988; more than 5,000 people died. Anfal was Saddam’s campaign in 1988–1989 to exterminate the Iraqi Kurds. Kurdistan does not officially exist as a country.

2007


Updated
September 12, 2008

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