" Lessons "
the call
from ghostly ziggurats
"war, war, war"
Alexander
and Hulagu smile
We are taught the first came from there,
civilization and kings,
writing, records and the law,
bread, flocks and the wine of life.
We are taught Abraham came from there,
that the two rivers flow from Eden.
We suspect Cain fled to there,
to Nod and Enoch, the city of his son.
the babble
of rotting corpses
‘revenge”
Armenian, kulak,
the sons and daughters of Joseph cry
We are told the last battle will be
fought on the plains of Megiddo.
Today, I hear it on my radio
from the swamps of Shatt al-‘Arab.
sandstorms
muffle the call to prayer
smother the cradle
with the smell of almonds
and hammer of ploughshares
pounded into swords.
© 2003 Gary Blankenship
|
|
