Protests Across Yemen Poem by Marieta Maglas

Protests spread across Yemen on Wednesday
Demanding an end to the president.
Policemen fired in the air, then forced their way
To disperse the crowd of the people present.


A foreign plot led the Arab world into chaos,
One thousand people marched on the Sanaa street,
For some consecutive days, they protested with pathos.
Ali Abdullah Saleh was trying to defeat.


President Ali Abdullah Saleh had been
Against Qaeda, and had been allied with the US.
But he has begun to smoke his narghile,
When he heard 'down with the president's thugs.'

Lawyers, students, and activists together
Marched chanting slogans against President
From Sanaa University toward the city center,
And they held their truths to be self-evident.

Riot police blocked the main road of the city,
And clashed with protesters throwing stones.
The government supporters with no pity
Staged a counter-demonstration in those zones.


It's about al-Qaida and counterterrorism
To speak on condition of anonymity.
About tribal leaders with their power as mesmerism,
Because it was a subject that had sensitivity.

Yemen, a Middle East country having eucalyptus
And grievances like corruption and poverty,
Felt aftershocks of pro-reform uprisings from Egypt,
While it was trying to grind its tribal complexity.

This country stood in contrast to Jordan's wealth.
Even Bahrain people protested for economic justice.
With tea and kabobs, they protected their health,
While they were putting pressure on the king to make changes.

Hundreds of Bedouin men blocked roads to demand.
Government all they should have, a job and a house,
Moreover, they wanted the return of their once-owned land.
For that, they waved flags, chanted, and erected banners.

Poem by Marieta Maglas