The Empire Burns
***********************

You, whose name has been writ large in the scrolls of eternity;
ethched with the blood of the oppressed multitude
the dead whose screams of terror
are still pulsating through the depths of night
gaping wounds left behind
hidden in small compact frames
of nameless
faceless
orphans
mute with boundless horror

You, whose paradigm is one of die and let die
waging war against all the have-nots
to build empires
of illusions and false hopes

You, who rules with the sole mission
of self aggrandizement
draped in cloaks of base religiosity
who wants us to believe you
care about such things as freedom
or democracy
beyond that which will solidify
your own superfluity

You, whose very ascent to power violates
our consent
who is busy, so busy
passing crimes against humanity
into palatable bites intent on feeding
us scraps
to mollify our conscience
all the time
turning a blind eye
to the poor
the debt ridden
the uninsured
the homeless
wandering in your own backyard

You, who is relentlessly waging
vague wars
trailing bloodshed
destruction
and terror
despite our marches
our fists
our resistance

You dare call me a fascist?

You, yes you...I am not talking about no ambiguous
ever changing enemy face
I am talking to you
Bush-Cheney-Condy-Rumsy-Wolfowitz
I am talking to you
Olmert
Intent on following your predecessor's footsteps
of genocide.

Fanatic in your blind
need to cleanse the region for the
restricted comfort
of your own ethnicity

Idiotic in your supposition
that the brutal taking
of a single soul is a thing to be trifled with

Amnesic of your own history
bearing witness to the tenacity of the oppressed
to confront
multiply
to endure

Because at the end of the day
whatever you may call it
that's the human thing to do
to fight for our existence
regardless of its convenience
for the Hitler of the day

Whose trails of massacres and havoc
has evoked gasps of discord
from the entire world

You, who has been blind
deaf and dumb
to all forms and calls of peace

How dare you call me a fascist?

Please tell me this is either your
pitiful attempt
at irony
or your idea of a foolish Joke
please tell me you don't believe for a
minute that your atrocities
will pass through the pages of history unnoticed?

That despite the endless
spins from your propaganda machinery
you haven't come to believe
your own twisted
distortions?

With every slumbering soul that wakes up to your madness
the empire burns

With every voice that speaks truth
to your imperium
the empire burns

With every man whose lips
hold the utterance of "never again"
the empire burns

With every fist raised
every tear shed
with every conscience awakened
every innocent slayed
with every soul aflame
the empire burns

Your gossamer words
will never
diffuse
the flames you set ablaze
nor assuage the haunting
spectre
of endless meadows covered in ashes
upon whose grounds
a thousand phoenixes rise
every day

So Mr. President you can call
me fascist-terrorist-freedom hater-extremist-fanatic...
until you are blue in the face
but under your feet
the empire continues to burn.

[By Maliha]