If one day the people. Ahmed Douma

If one day the People wills to live,
Then they can go revolt.
And the echo of their songs can chase away palace dogs
And they can raise their banners whose cloth has been dragged in the dirt
            Dragged through streets, servility and surrender.
And they can turn those banners into a plan of attack
And hang the darkness of their night on the gallows.
            While the dreams of their night tremble
            At a spark flickering in the heart
            At a light…
If one day the People wills to win,
Then decision must dictate
            That silence is no longer an option
And they must create, with their own hands,
Daylight rays for the sun of emancipation!
They must help give birth to a country, as yet unborn
Struggling midwife,
Pulling the country hard and harder,
Shouting out in its ear the call to prayer, “Revolution has risen!”
And “There is no revolution but the Revolution you make yourself!”
Let our country nurse on the many meanings of dignity.
Let it come to know how to break the siege.
If one day the People wills to arrive at its destination,
Then it has no choice but
To gather the ammunition it will need for the journey
To call what lies between us and them
            The length of countries
Saying, “You sons of…”
Its time for the Dog to go.
Enough with the howling.
Enough with the voiceless shrieking.
Enough with death.
The People opens their eyes and finds their guide
            They see that the one who betrayed them
            No longer exists.
In their victory, they cross bridges and borders
Shrieking
            And shrieking,
                        Shrieking and shrieking.
I am now free.
            Without shackles.
Now I am free, without chains.
If one day, the People wills to live,
Then they must learn to break their chains themselves.

Ahmed Douma IF ONE DAY THE PEOPLE (Midan Tahrir, May 2011.)