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.