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Nizar Qabbani - The Face Of Qana
Work rating: Medium

The face of Qana 
Pale, like that of Jesus 
and the sea breeze of April…
Rains of blood.. and tears..
2 
 
They entered Qana stepping on our charred bodies 
Raising a Nazi flag 
in the lands of the South 
and rehearsing its stormy chapters  
Hitler cremated them in the gas chambers  
and they came after him to burn us 
Hitler kicked them out of Eastern Europe 
and they kicked us out of our lands 
3
 
 They entered Qana 
Like hungry wolves
 Putting to fire the house of the Messiah
 Stepping on the dress of Hussain
 and the dear land of the South 
4
 
 Blasted Wheat, Olive-trees and Tobacco 
and the melodies of the nightingale 
Blasted Cadmus in his bark 
Blasted sea and the gulls 
Blasted even hospitals 
even nursing moms
 and schoolboys 
Blasted the beauty of the Southern women 
and murdered the gardens of the honeyed eyes 
5
 
 We saw the tears in Ali`s eyes 
We heard his voice as he prayed 
under the rain of bloody skies 
6
 
 Who ever will write about the history of Qana 
Will inscribe in his parchments 
This was the second Karbala
 7
 
 Qana unveiled what was hidden 
We saw America 
Wearing the old coat of a Jewish Rabbi 
Leading the slaughter 
Blasting our children for no reason 
Blasting our wives for no reason
 Blasting our trees for no reason
 Blasting our thoughts for no reason 
Has it been decreed in her constitution, 
She, America, mistress of the world, 
In Hebrew .. that she should humble us al-Arab?
 8
 
 Has it been decreed that each time a ruler in America
 wants to win the presidency that he should kill us .. 
We al Arab? 
9
 
 We waited for one Arab to come 
pull this thorny prick from our necks 
We waited for single Qureishite 
A single Hashemite 
A single Don Quixote 
A single local hero, for whom they did not shave the moustache 
We waited for a Khalid ..  Tariq .. or Antara 
We were eaten chatter (while engaged in vain talk) 
They sent a fax 
We read its text 
 after paying tribute 
and the end of the slaughter
10
 
 What does Israel fear from our cries? 
What does she fear from our faxes? 
The Jihad of the fax is the weakest of Jihads 
It is a single text we write 
for all the martyrs who left  
and all the martyrs those who will come 
11 
 
What does Israel fear from Ibn al-Muqaffa`? 
Jarir and .. Farazdaq? 
And Khansa throwing her poems at the gates of the cemetery 
What does she fear if we burn tires 
Sign communiqués 
And destroy shops 
And she knows that we have never been kings of war
But were kings of chatters 
12 
 
What does Israel fear 
from the beating of the drums 
the tearing of clothes 
and the scratching of cheeks 
What does she fear 
when she hears
the stories of `Ad and Thamud? 
13 

We are in national comma 
We did not receive 
Since the times of conquest 
a single mail 
14
 
 We are a people of made of dough 
The more Israel increases in her killing and terrorism
 the more we increase in idleness and coldness
15 
 
A Smothering Dominion 
A regional dialect that increases in ugliness 
and a green union that grows in isolation 
Summer trees, growing barren 
And borders .. whenever the whim strikes 
erase other borders 
16 
 
Israel should slaughter us, and why not? 
She should erase Hisham, Ziyad and ar-Rashid, and why not? 
[Why not?] and the Banu Taghlab lusting after their women 
[Why not?] and Banu Mazen lusting after their slave boys
[Why not?] and Banu Adnan dropping their trousers to their knees 
debating .. necking and .. the lips!
17
 
 What should Israel fear from some of al-Arab 
When they became Yehuda???
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