FIHEL ASIREM
(YOU MUST ACT)

One morning you awaken
And discover
That you have another day
To live in poverty
To add to the day before.
You discover that everything
Has become confusing
Everywhere you turn
To make twenty
There's still nineteen to go.
You seethe with fury ----
Which path should you choose?

Wake up, shake yourself
Two times rather than once
Until your worries
Come to an end.
You who sit doing nothing
You should neither sleep
nor relax.

And the day when you will
be broke
The water will replace the
sauce on your plate.
Busy running here and there
Tighten your belt one notch
Try to keep count.
When you don't have a penny
Then will you be humbled
And your head will touch
the earth.

Like a crow soaring over
canyons
Who abandons its babies
To anxiety and fear
You cry and scream
But still you get nothing to eat.
You cannot endure winter.
It's true that the cold can kill.
Without having the smallest of
hopes
You have only the right to tears.
You turn around
The problem is everywhere
In all directions
There is no solution.
The end is already at
the doorstep
And tears cannot help.

If you worry, it will be in vain
The facts are clear
And they are unassailable.
You have not found and will
not find a way.
The poor will always suffer
Because the rich have made off
with the spoils.
From the morning
They've taken their share and
more
And you dare not hope for even
a crumb.
Poor, oppressed, dreary,
Your poverty has been cruel
Your pitcher is hopelessly empty.
Don't fool yourself
Don't wait for a miracle
"Act now! Resort to revolution!"

One morning you awaken
To discover that you have
Another day to live in poverty
To add the day before.
You discover that everything
Has become confusing
Everywhere you turn
To make twenty
There's still nineteen to go.
You seethe with fury ----
But I must say to you
"Act now! Resort
to revolution!"

If they ask you...
To be silent
To wait
To be patient a little longer. . .
Just listen to your soul
And act!

Seize your rights,
For nothing can stop
The course of history.
Your new-found strength will
lead you
To the fulfillment of your
desires.

If they ask you...

Your eyes
Stung by tears
Wait in vain for a moonbeam.
What are you doing with
your beauty?
Your passion?
Don t you see that time is passing?

If they ask you...

Your youth?
It will die in the desert
Of your dreams.
Your freedom?
It lies in the reality
Of your hopes,
In the consequences of your
actions,
And in your will to survive,
And to exist.

If they ask you...