Friday, December 23, 2005

Shadow Government by Syrian poet Muhammad Al-Maghut (my translation):

"My mother is Arabism
and my father is struggle
and my sister is unity
and my uncle is positive neutralism
and my [other] uncle is non-alignment
and my brother-in-law is steadfastness
and my mother-in-law is the Arab League
and my grandfather is [Arab] Joint Defense
and my children are the streets
and I call for an exit from this chaos,
but I only hear words:
The fighter talks about war,
but never shoots one bullet
The peasant talks about good seasons,
but does not plant one seed
The worker talks about abundance in production,
but does not hit one nail
The mother talks about motherhood,
but does not give birth to a cat even
I cry...There are always new tragedies
I eat..There are always new fields
and wheat piles
I drink...There are always new rivers,
wells, and springs
I fight..There are always new enemies
and new fronts
Hemiplegia, don't treat*
But I will treat
And I have formed a shadow...emergency... government...
and I have nominated the following:
All kinds of flowers for the Ministry of Youth
The moon for the Ministry of Electricity
Rain for the Ministry of Irrigation
Swallow for the Ministry of Transportation
An eagle for the Foreign Ministry
A mole for the Ministry of Interior
A peacock for the Ministry of Defense
A parrot for the Ministry of Information
Wind for the Ministry of Planning
A drunk for the Ministry of Education
A gypsy for the Ministry of Housing
Abu Nuwwas for the Ministry of Religions
Abu Sayyaf for the Ministry of Tourism
Al-Hajjaj for the Ministry of Justice
A child for the Ministry of Holidays,
Swings, and Sweets
Abu Hurayrah a secretary general
of the ruling party, the council of ministers,
the union of writers, teachers, engineers,
workers, peasants, or for any union
or syndicate, or foundation with secrets
And Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd, Ibn An-Nafis,
and Abu Al-`Atahiyah:
Ministers without ministries
Religion of state: the spring
And George Bush Sr. or Jr. or George
Washington secretary general of the UN,
NATO, WHO, the environment organization,
IAEA, weather organization, World Bank,
and data banks of any kind,
and Marx: Minister of Time..."

*A reference to the Arabic proverb, "Falij La T`alij."