Excerpts from “The City of No Peace”

I Baghdad, peace abides no more In your roads: there, The sun seems ashamed to ship Its hope, its great wishes, its signal for a new day Over you, over our graves Which we call homes. I fear I have lost my humanity to my anger. Rage moves me like a doll. Women scratch their faces with bare hands Leaving skin under their nails, Crying their sons’ names, With loud, bitter voices Breaking even the stones. Weddings, in my city of peace, The city of no peace, Are held at graveyards among tombstones Surrounded by flowers of dust, Winds playing hushed music. Our happiness has been kidnapped. No ransom is accepted. We cry at their feet, Asking for mercy, But what should we expect from beasts? We are sentenced to death For being people Who committed no crime but to live In the city of peace, The city of no peace. II Whom shall we blame? Shall we point at Ignorance, Hatred, What we possess deep inside?