Syrian Proxy War Poem by Mohammad Yousef

By Mohammad A.Yousef

In the land where ancient whispers
meet the cries of children,
the sky hangs heavy,
dark clouds of smoke rising
like silent screams into the air.

Fields once bloomed,
laughter danced on sunlit paths,
but now echoes of war's shadow
strip the earth of its peace—
a garden turned graveyard.

This is not just a story
of neighbor against neighbor,
no simple tale of long-held grudges,
but a tapestry stitched with threads
from distant hands—
nations far away,
shadows cast upon our soil.

Flags may wave in the wind,
but it's not for freedom or rights.
Each soldier marches,
believing in a cause,
yet all the while
puppeteers pull at strings,
each tug shifting the balance.

A game of chess played
where lives are the pieces,
moved with cold strategy,
sacrificed with precision,
while families wait,
hearts heavy with worry and despair.

In cities torn apart,
the lines are blurred—
once our streets turned familiar
now lined with rubble and fear.
Once neighbors, now ghosts of what was,
as the question looms:
who truly fights our battles?

Hands reach out from cracked windows,
eyes searching for light in the dark,
for hope, for healing,
as prayers rise on whispered lips.
But the world's gaze often turns away,
distracted by the next headline,
the next sound bite—
yet here life persists.

Through the ruins emerge stories
of children who still dream,
of mothers who forge strength
from ashes, breathing life
into the thought that peace might return,
that the heart of Syria beats still.

This is not merely a fight for land,
or thirst for power's crown.
It is a tangled web of intentions,
woven through with the fabric of many,
a proxy war in the guise of passion,
the innocent caught in the struggle,
wondering why their voices are muted,
wondering when the storm will end.

So we gather the stories,
honor the lost and the living,
and in the face of voice drowned out,
we raise ours, together,
in solidarity, in truth.
For the war may rage,
but we will not let it define
the spirit of a people
who dream of peace
and the laughter that fills the air once again.