hommagetobabylon

Hommage to Babylon

Middle East Sun
Middle East Fire
The rich flood plain lies in the land between the rivers...
Hommage to Babylon

Oldest texts ever written
The Sumerians explain the origins of human knowledge
with the cuneiform engravings on clay tablets
Cylinder seals depict the power of the lion
The roots of civilization grow where the Tigris and Euphraties meet
Hommage to Babylon as she emerges

Years of sanctions and war
A generations’ blood and tears cover the ground
Hommage to Babylon as she bleeds

And it rained and it poured
Showers of cluster bombs and cruise missiles
Thousands of Tomahawks dropped since Operation Desert Storm
The Fertile Crescent, arable land, now irradiated with Uranium 238...
with a half life of 4.5 billion years...or until the end of time
Hommage to Babylon as she radiates

Up in flames they went
The book of Tobit
Hammurabies’ Code of Law
The Koranic Library
The Ottoman records of the Caliphate
Handwritten letters to and from the Kings of Assyria
The history, the accounts,
the treasury of culture maintained since the beginning of humanity
They burned it all, as the evidence was set ablaze
Hommage to Babylon as she burns

They starved the children
...what do you mean Oil for Food!
They stole the boys’ innocence,
fighting for freedom with Kalishnikovs and hand grenades
They killed the fathers
Fatimah, Radhia, Safya...mothers, daughters weep and grieve
Hommage to Babylon as she cries

As the Great Goddess Innana was stripped before she reached the Underworld
Babylon enters this new century, humiliated and dishonored,
torn apart and in pain, naked and helpless
Hommage to Babylon as she descends