By Mohja Kahf
It Came to This
i.
For Kurdish rights in Syria
For Kurds stripped of citizenship since 1963
stripped of their land their language their names
whipped by the Arab Belt of the Baath
no economic justice no equality no
dignity for prisoners of conscience in Syria
families of prisoners assemble on the curb
outside the Justice Building in Damascus
for Tal Malouhi, 17, imprisoned for a poem
for a word for an essay for a blog
no charge no warrant no
redress and no recourse
for Raghda Hassan, imprisoned for her novel manuscript
her ten-year-old son on the curb beaten at the vigil
no charge no warrant no
accountability of government
its rubber-stamp parliament
its executive all powerful for life
its security branches all powerful
all seventeen of them
its Mr. Ten Percent lining his pockets
the Assad family plundering the country