From my 2013 Arabic diary, upon returning to Damascus from Jordan, rejecting the US-led intervention in Syria. Image by Mehmet Turgut Kirkgoz
DAMASCUS –
Mock if you want—go.
There’s no harm in mockery, no taboo.
And be glad.
And clink your glasses—go on—
for tomorrow
we escort another country
to the cemetery.
Extracted from my 2005 & 2011 Arabic diary using AI. Original Arabic text below. Image by Pixabay
DAMASCUS –
In my country—
the land of hypocrites and fools—
we lie, we twist the truth by rules,
claim anything we choose.
This poem is written in the voice of absurd confession—a juridical parody spoken by a powerless teenager accused of crimes that only states and intelligence services commit. It reflects the psychological climate of Syria before the uprising: a society treated as guilty in advance, confessing to crimes it did not commit, awaiting punishment already decided. The violence here is not a call—it is a forecast.
Continue reading “Confessions of a Free Woman in a Captive Homeland”
Adapted from my 2011 Arabic diary. Image by Khalid Garcia
Eastern Ghouta –
Rebel!
Shatter the locks, break down the walls —
and never fear the fall.
Adapted from my November 2009 diary, with the help of AI.
The original Arabic poem appears below.
Image by The Lazy Artist Gallery
Homs —
Because you want the stars pulled from the sky,
And honey poured in ears, both low and high—
Each dawn, each dusk, no pause, no “let it be,”
You take too much, give back too little—me.
Roumani Line 