The Nightmare Poem by Abd al Wahhab Al-Bayati

A ghost chases in darkness the author of "the little man"
sniffing old books on the shelves of bookstores
here and there in Baghdad's streets
but returns in defeat to the coffeehouse
not finding those he chased yesterday
for they fled to exile like flocks of birds
no more prey to hunt
graveyards and prisons are overcrowded with the rest
this is the carnival of death at its apex
Ishtar has become a blind wolf
feared by all
and has incarnated the city's soul
after she was taken captive by the invaders
and under their embargo
a tattered old woman
weeps in secret
and sleeps hungry to dream:
overtaken by nightmare
she cries out:
nothing but winds that trifle with garbage
or the footsteps of a ghost chasing in darkness
the author of "the little man."