When Al-Hadba Fell.......قصيدة وهوت حدباؤنا

Poem by Ghanim Anaz

Translation by James Cain

When Al-Hadba Fell

Some betrayed you as they were betrayed … oh Iraq, you were once my country

 

Some sold you out, as they became despots… to new enemies, new tyrants

 

Evil lies when evil laments … back in the burning times of Daesh

 

When Al-Hadba became but fire and blood … and its Hadba* plummeted in anguish

 

Her Tigris wept her eyes raw … she let out her moans with great pain

 

Her neighbourhoods now seemingly empty … her houses crumbling for lost sons

 

Her children emerging from some plague … many taken by Death never to return

 

O God bless those who freed you … So, rise like lions my brothers and sisters

 

Oh my countrymen, wake up and take heed … for the wolves around you are sulking

 

And live in dignity, our great army … embracing, as one body, our people

 

 

Link to original: http://ghanim-anaz.blogspot.de/2017/07/blog-post_23.html#gpluscomments
* Comment:
Al-Hadba – literally the “Hunched one” refers to both the minaret of the Al-Nuri Mosque in Mosul and also to the city itself

وهـــوت حـدبـاؤنـا

غـانم ألـعـنّـاز

خـانكَ البعـضُ إذا الـبعض خــنــا............يـا عـراقٌ كـنـتَ يـوماً بـلـدي

باعـك الـبعـض إذ الـبعض طــغــى............لــعـــدوٍّ من طــغـــاةٍ جـــــددِ

وبــغــى الــشرُّ إذ الــشرُّ عـــــوى............في زمـــانٍ داعــشٍ مــتّــقِـــدِ

فــغــــدت حــدبــاءُ نـــاراً ودمــــاٌ............وهــوت حـدبـاؤهـا من كــمــدِ

وبــكـــت دجــلــتـهــا مـن رمــــــدٍ............وعـلــت آهــاتــها مـن نــكــــدِ

وبـــدت أحـــيـــاؤهــــا خـــاويـــةً............وتـــهـــاوت دورهــــا مــن أودِ

وصحـا أبـــنــاؤهــا مـن سـقـــمٍ............وقــضـى بـعـضهُـمو لـنْ يَـعُـــدِ

بــا رك الله بــمـن حـــرركــــــم............فانـهـضـوا يـا أهـلــنــا كالأسُـــدِ

واسـتـفـق يـا بـلـدي واتّـــعِـــــظِ............فـالــذئــابُ حــولــك فـي حـــردِ

ولـتـعـش يــا جـيـشـنـا في شَممٍ............والـتـحِـمْ يـا شـعـبـنـا كالجـســِد

17 تموز2017

 واتفورد – من ضواحي لندن