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Mohja Kahf
The Freedom You Want
“Freedom?” the doctor mutters
over the wounded protester
“Is this the freedom you want?”
without anesthetic without permission
slicing her belly
The doctor is a Baath Party member
and the hospital belongs to the state
But she is a human being
and words belong to her
Outside her window the president
on a billboard says “Freedom
is being safe from terrorists”
On my screen the dissident of another country
who has never set foot in Syria
yips “Freedom in Syria is just code
for imperialist intervention”
I used to believe him
until I let her
guide my hand across her bellyscar
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