Twelve years have passed

And the Iraqis are turning over

Like skewered fish

On the fire of waiting.

**

In the first year of the sanctions

They said: The Arabs will come

They will come with love, flour, and the rights of kinship

The year passed with its long seasons

The Arabs never came

And sent no explanation for the delay.

***

In the second year of the sanctions

They said: The Muslims will come

They will come with rice, goodness, and the predators’ leftovers

The year passed with its long seasons

The Muslims never came

And sent no explanation for the delay.

***

In the third year of the sanctions

They said: The world will come

They will come with manna, solace, and human rights

The year passed with its long seasons

The world never came

And sent no explanation for the delay.

***

In the fourth year of the sanctions

They said: The Americans will come

They will come with hope, sugar, and warm feelings

The year passed with its long seasons

The Americans never came

And sent no explanation for the delay.

***

In the fifth year of the sanctions

They said: The opposition will come

They will come with victories, water, and air

The year passed with its long seasons

The opposition never came

And sent no explanation for the delay.

***

In the sixth year of the sanctions

They said: We will sell whatever is extra

We will be frugal until relief comes

The year passed with its long seasons

The Iraqis sold all unnecessary things

Relief never came

And sent no explanation for the delay.

***

In the seventh year of the sanctions

They said: We will give up our semi-necessities

We will be patient until we get support

The year passed with its long seasons

The Iraqis gave up many of their necessities

The support never came

And sent no explanation for the delay.

***

In the eighth year of the sanctions

They said: We will sell some of our organs

We will be strong until justice comes

The year passed with its long seasons

The Iraqis sold most of their organs

Justice never came

And sent no explanation for the delay.

***

In the ninth year of the sanctions

They said: We will sell some of our children

We will sacrifice until mercy encompasses us

The year passed with its long seasons

The Iraqis sold their children, their innards

Mercy never came

And sent no explanation for the delay.

***

In the tenth year of the sanctions

They said: We will emigrate

To the wide world of Allah

We will hope

Until the will of the gods arrives

The year passed with its long seasons

The Iraqis separated east and west

The will of the gods never came

And sent no explanation for the delay.

***

In the eleventh year of the sanctions

They said: The best thing for us is to die

We will remain in our graves

Until the day of judgment arrives

The year passed with its long seasons

Cancer, tuberculosis, and leukemia consumed the Iraqis’ bodies

The day of judgment never came

And sent no explanation for the delay.

***

In the twelfth year of the sanctions

The Iraqis found nothing to wait for

They said: Now is the time

For the earth’s worms to devour us

They might save us from this hell

Where we are turning over like skewered fish.

--------------

* Translated from the Arabic original by the poet.