Surreal Ballard Of Tahrir Square Poem by Terence George Craddock (Spectral Images and Images Of Light)

script implausible was so bad surreal
a badly written distorted dream scene
by hack writer with his train off de track

a director still coupled to an antique
loose caboose directing a crummy
crew straight out of sad clown wagon

hear bark a doghouse glory wagon
nationalist saviour script monkey
wagon attack techniques yes these

lapdogs trained as running dogs were
about to be let loose from monkey
wagon many bused in especially for

lackey protest busting feature occasion
moral railroaded false charge imagery
“don’t fall asleep on trains coz trains run

over sleepers” view protesters in lime
light were about to be overwhelmed
ruthlessly crushed steamrolled to pave

one way for Mubarak to oh so smoothly
retain President power so run mad house
script bizarre surging footage shot real?

roll cameras action paid men came with
baseball bats pieces of broken window
frames machetes one homemade spear?

form a line a small group plainclothes
policemen block one broad boulevard
leading into Tahrir Square now symbolic

epicentre
of peaceful Egyptian
revolution

poor police publicly shamed had been
driven from streets so used to controlling
last Friday now had come to hero reclaim

what? A ruthless reputation, proud ego,
status regarded as rightfully lawfully
theirs? Police gathered on Qasr el-Aini

prepared themselves for confrontation
with brave protesters who had humiliated
police their precious patron president

yesterday not a day of revolution
it was an orchestrated beginning
of a vicious counter-revolution in

support of Hosni Mubarak's regime
a regime that seemed dedicated to
confirm all Mubarak's critics' fears

today is the day after hundreds
of thousands of anti-Mubarak
demonstrators had filled Tahrir

Square to demand Mubarak's ousting
now ruthless paid supporters of Egypt's
president dictator of 30 years sly came

to reclaim symbolic Tahrir Square with
violence now avenging pride wounded
thugs come by car by foot on horseback

mounted on camel to pronounce vengeance
to proclaim dramatic U-turn of Mubarak's
regime to dramatically defiantly reject world

international calls for orderly transition
of power in creeping hours beforehand
crowds of pro-Mubarak demonstrators

had poured over Nile bridges to gather
on the Corniche outside their state-run
TV station a symbol of Mubarak's rule

half a mile up road gathering gathering
waiting waiting shadow trained specters
lust to draw blood of peaceful protesters

Egypt's proud state army had promised
it would not use force on demonstrators
in script sentence parted like the red sea

did nothing to prevent surge thug advance
wave ranks swelled with criminal escapee
malicious evil snarling dogs are unleashed

tens of thousands of brutal thugs lackey
regime's supporters some bused in from
pro-Mubarak country regions to city seep

civil servants given a day's paid holiday
steam roller force entry into Tahrir Square
now a few minutes before 2pm vengeance

moment comes Tahrir Square was stormed
3pm TV view extraordinary development
men mounted on camel horseback entered

square on regime's side swift creating chaos
crazy censored camel charge camera allures
so surreal but sudden sharp screams assures

plan plot darker sinister choke throat
grasping Mubarak political agenda
escalation within surge shock minutes

conflict scuffles break out bricks hurled
savage vengeance beatings delivered
with staves suddenly the centre of Cairo

divides into two battling factions pelting
each other with torn up paving stones as
veneer civilization is peal stripped back

centuries into cast stone slinging solutions
shadow time sun dial surges in flung rage
fear sweat eats an hour stone chip bleeding

pro-Mubarak demonstrators summoned by
text message calling on 'Egypt lovers' to
plan congregate at Tahrir Square threw sly

first rocks catching flesh face opponents
innocent naked sling a hail of missiles
advance unleash cruel maiming missiles

pro-democracy protesters holding
up sheets building corrugated metal
ripped from near construction site

used as shields as hail stone rule rains
anti-government protesters streaming
blood are taken to makeshift clinics in

mosques alleyways wounded begging
impassive soldiers for safe protection
to Egyptian army shame none is given

dozens of target wounded demonstrators
are treated at open-air aid station at square
entrance with hit blood streaming wounds

Mustafa Khalili an observer
a guardian reporter
watched an Egyptian soldier

who fired as he stood on his tank
at a pro-Mubarak demonstrator
who had targeted him with a rock

Mubarak’s supporters managed
to gain control of strategic roofs
two commanding main buildings

while young men in crash helmets
volunteers on opposition side
acted as humane stretcher-bearers

shadow time sun dial bleeds blood let time
within two hours Molotov cocktails are
being thrown bursts of automatic weapons

fire thunder scream shocks peace witnesses
after peaceful celebration of previous days
violence steeled raw primitive brutal erupts

a plan broken out its rage front line net set
near sideline Egypt’s country's famous
national treasure pride Egyptian Museum

'Why don't you protect us? '
some opposition protesters
shout at soldiers who reply

they have no orders to protect
told protesting people civilians
to flee go home disperse desist

the army is neglectful the army
let the pro-regimists in orders
given must be obeyed followed

for days protesters had praised
their army for remaining neutral
neutral follow orders disciplined

'Hosni has opened the door
for these thugs to attack us, '
a protester with a loudspeaker

shouts to surging crowds during
turmoil scenes fierce fighting
chaos rules grown men are crying

'When we were fighting
the central security forces
last week it was liberating, '

'Yet now we are fighting
each other and that breaks
my heart' with bloodshed

'After the revolution,
they want to send people
here to ruin it for us, '

Ahmed Abdullah said,
a 47-year-old lawyer
to ruin a peaceful protest

'Why do they want us
to be at each other's throats,
with the whole world watching us? '

early evening at least one person
had died 600 were injured
some pro-Mubarak demonstrators

captured by protest opposition
were carrying ID cards
that identified them as police

demonstrations have predictable
unpredictable outcomes in midnight
Middle East change resistant rule

time only sand blown time
Sphinx ingrained will prove
new age defining outcome


Copyright © Terence George Craddock
Written in February 2011 on the 16.2.2011.
See also the poem ‘Regime Restoration Attack On Protest Tahrir Square’.