Iraqi poetry

BH

Modern iraqi poetry i read for class

The Prisoner by Dunya Mikhail
Translated by Salaam Yousif and Liz Winslow
She doesn't understand
what it means to be "guilty"
She waits at the prison's door
until she sees him
to tell him "Take care"
as she used to remind him
when he was going to school
when he was going to work
when he was coming on vacation
She doesn't understand
what they are uttering now
those who are behind the bar
with their uniform
as they decided that
he should be put there
with strangers of gloomy days
It never came to her mind
when she was saying lullabies
upon his bed
during those faraway nights
that he would be put
in this cold place
without moons or windows
She doesn't understand
The mother of the prisoner
doesn't understand
why should she leave him
just because "the visit has finished"!

The Last Iraq by Fadhil al-Azzawi
Translated by Salaam Yousif
Every night I place this creature on my table
And pull its ears,
Till tears of joy come to its eyes.
Another cold winter, penetrated by airplanes
And soldiers sitting on the edge of a hillock,
Waiting for history
To rise up from the darkness of the marshes
With a gun in its hand,
To shoot angels
Training for the revolution.
Every night
I put my hand on this country,
It slips away from my fingers,
Like a soldier running from the front.
[1987]