Baghdad Exceeds Its Object
sotto
voce |
[
[ |
Come off
it, Tha'lab, you faker, you kadhib,
yes, very funny, but for goodness sake, |
crescendo |
just put back
those purple bowels in your tummy,
you'll be late for work! |
sotto
voce |
[ |
Make haste, Safia, you little
scamp, you pig-tailed qasida,
put that fat flap of scalp back on your crown, |
crescendo |
[ |
now's not the hour for teenage
pranks,
it's time to go to school! |
sotto
voce |
[ |
Ah, quit moaning Miss Al-Sayab,
you muwashshara, |
crescendo |
[ |
we know that fetus hanging from
your bottom is a rubber trick
we're not stupid, you know, so cease being crass,
and get ye to market! |
sotto
voce |
[ |
Cut the crap, Nizar, you iltizam, |
crescendo |
[ |
pick that torso up and put it
back on your dancing spine
we know that old box and mirror trick,
now get thee to prayers! |
sotto
voce |
[ |
Hey, Rashid, you al-nahda, |
crescendo |
[ |
we know you love the special
effects of Hollywood movies, |
messo
forte |
[ |
but it's not safe to make yourself
into a geyser of fire
and anyway, you're supposed to be accompanying the inspectors! |
sotto
voce |
[ |
Say there, little Samih, you
shirnur, |
messo
forte |
[ |
six-month-olds aren't supposed
to be able to fly |
fortissimo |
[ |
so get down from those power
lines and gather
your legs and head on the ground here, you naughty child! |
sotto
voce |
[ |
Listen, Tawfiq, you tafila, |
messo
forte |
[ |
OK, so you're a sorry-assed academic
with a Ba'ath mustache, |
fortissimo |
[ |
but put your brains back into
your head, you can't fool us by calling in sick
it's time for class and your students are ablaze! |
sotto
voce |
[ |
Yo bro, my main-man Bashad, you
tardiyyat,
you're as if dead and white as marble, but there's not a scratch
on your body |
fortissimo |
[ |
quit fucking around, the mosque
is rubble,
make the siren light flash and spin on your ambulance! |
sotto
voce |
[ |
Greetings Ahmad, you badi-kamriyyat, |
fortissimo |
[ |
put your face back on and also
that water pipe hose thing back into your belly
yeah, boo hoo, so your kid died of dysentery...
Suck
it up! The price is worth it! Now pick up that basket of
condoms and gum! |
sotto
voce |
[ |
Good morning, Mrs. al-Jurjani,
you madin,
author of four essays on postmodern currents in American poetry, |
fortissimo |
[ |
what are you howling and wailing
like that for, hitting your skull
against the flagstones like a mechanical hammer?
A horse is a horse, and if a horse is dead, a horse is dead |
decrescendo |
[ |
More so, you are naked, which
is unbecoming of a lady your age and standing.
Like Hamlet, your emotion is unconvincing, for it exceeds its
object. |
sotto
voce |
[ |
Therefore, we beseech thee: Show
some gratitude, and put a plug in it. |
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