Trial No. 10: When the Heart Would Not Love Messi

Lionel Messi wears the number 10 for Argentina and captained his country to the 2022 World Cup title. Imad's humorous not a Messi fan poem wakes to find his heart arrested for that one crime, with a whole stadium in a judge's robe asking why. He answers with respect for Argentina and for the fortress it built, until the courtroom collapses and the ball goes back to being just a ball.

استيقظتُ هذا الصباح…I woke up this morning…

لأكتشف أن قلبي قد اعتُقل أثناء نومي.Only to discover that my heart had been arrested while I slept.

لم يكن متهمًا بالخيانة…It was not accused of treason…

ولا بالقتل…Nor of murder…

ولا بسرقة كأس العالم.Nor of stealing the World Cup.

كانت تهمته الوحيدة…Its only crime was this…

أنه لم يُحب لاعبًا أحبه العالم.It refused to love a player adored by the world.

وقف القاضي…The judge rose…

وكان ملعبًا كاملًا يرتدي روب العدالة.He was an entire stadium wearing a judge’s robe.وسألني:He asked me:لماذا لا تحب ميسي؟Why don’t you love Messi?ابتسمت…I smiled…وقلت:And answered:وهل صار القلب موظفًا عند الفيفا؟Has the heart become an employee of FIFA?ضجّت المحكمة…The courtroom erupted…وكأنني أنكرت وجود الشمس.As if I had denied the existence of the sun.فقلت بهدوء:So I spoke calmly:أحترم الأرجنتين…

I respect Argentina…فهي قلعة تعرف كيف تنتصر.It is a fortress that knows how to win.لكن احترام القلعة…But respecting the fortress…لا يعني أن أحب كل نافذة فيها.Does not mean I must love every window in it.المحبة…Love…ليست قرارًا…Is not a decision…ولا استفتاءً…Nor a referendum…ولا بطولةً عالمية.Nor a world championship.إنها سرٌ…It is a mystery…لا يعرفه إلا القلب.Known only to the heart.

عندها…At that moment…

انهارت المحكمة…The courtroom collapsed…

وسقطت المدرجات…The grandstands fell…

وعادت الكرة…And the ball returned…

مجرد كرة.To being just a ball.

Another view of the same player is The Epic of the Last Memory: A Poem About Messi, and the stadium as architecture is told in The Epic of the Stadium of Light: SoFi Stadium.