end through awareness, instigation, and glorification. Indeed, action needs the influence of sincere speech. Because its absence means filling the space with contradictory speech. And we know that this contradictory speech is always present and active, even while truth exists. So, imagine that the space was entirely void of truth. There is no resistance on the face of earth that would dispense the poet for the fighter. Every living resistance realizes that there is no use for bloodshed without a moral conscience. The history of our people is the greatest witness to the importance of the poet's role in war. The fighter has always sharpened both his sword and tongue." Legacy Matar remains a prominent poet in the Arab world, and his poetry is often cited when criticizing authorities. On 3 October 2021, Amer Ayad, a Zitouna TV talk-show host, read one of Ahmed Matar's poems on air. The reading was seen by the authorities of the ruling government as an indictment of President Kais Saied, whose then-recent self-coup proved controversial. This led to the arrest of Ayad as from his home, as well as the member of parliament who was the guest of the episode. Below are some of his poems, translated to English: The Hope الأمل People of exile منفيون The defector المنشق My friend Hassan صاحبي حسن A tear over the dead body of freedom دمعة على جثمان الحرية Takfir and the revolution التكفير و الثورة Even more brutal than execution أقسى من الإعدام Yes, I am a Terrorist نعم، أنا إرهابي See also Iraqi art List of Iraqi artists References External links The Poetry of Ahmad Matar at PoetsGate Living people 20th-century Iraqi poets 1954 births 21st-century Iraqi poets