The New Ten Commandments Poem by FADHIL AL-AZZAWI

Do not light up a match in a forest
A bird is afraid of fire!
Do not sit in a sunrise
Someone might be looking for light!
Do not stop a wind in the dessert
It might bring rain to the Bedouins!

Do not look in the mirror
Perhaps you became someone else!

Do not spit in a bitter well
Thirsty, you might drink from it one day!

Do not dwell in a barren woman
You might by chance, have a child with her!

Do not raise your voice in a dark night
Ghosts might hear you and enter your home out of loneliness!

Do not joke around with an executioner's rope
Perhaps it will drag you to a hanging!

Do not supress your joys behind a mask
The wind might lift it up, whilst you are singing in the wind!

Do not enter a history that was not made by your own hands
You might fall under its train as it passes by!