Love Letter To My Country - a poem
My country.
My country is its land,
Vast, green, fertile land.
From the mountain tops to the seaside beaches,
From the desert to the ancient cities of Athens and Rome.
It is its beautiful religion,
Strong-willed, merciful and righteous.
It is its people,
Brave, compassionate and helpful.
My country is its free children,
Strong, loyal and revolutionary.
And my country is its free youth,
Independent, empowered and proud.
Its tribes and its heritage,
its cities and their prosperity.
My country is its rich art, its music and literature.
It is the jeweled tiara
of the beautiful queen Africa.
It is my homeland
The place that has made me who I am today.
My country is Libya.
But Libya has changed.
My Libya has been betrayed,
Betrayed by its own people.
The generous turned into greedy,
The forgiving turned into cruel,
The hopeful youth turned into suicide targets.
The art, music and literature lost,
As the ignorant burn it down.
My Libya is nothing but a pile of ruins.
Forgive us, my love.
One day, we’ll see the smile of the child
grow wide again.
But where should we begin,
The rubble or our sins?
My beloved Libya,
Forgive me.
I left my heart with you, keep it safe,
For I’ll come back.
~Nada El Majri~
