{"id":3370,"date":"2016-12-10T03:18:20","date_gmt":"2016-12-10T03:18:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/?p=3370"},"modified":"2016-12-10T03:18:20","modified_gmt":"2016-12-10T03:18:20","slug":"the-land-between-two-rivers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/the-land-between-two-rivers\/","title":{"rendered":"The Land Between Two Rivers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-984\" title=\"iraq\" src=\"http:\/\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/09\/iraq.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"439\" height=\"155\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The land between where two rivers flow<br \/>\nWonders if ever peace again it will know<br \/>\nForgotten are the glories of long ago<br \/>\nWhere in the ground first was planted seeds&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>Land of Babylon: rocked now by explosions loud<br \/>\nThe meddling of outsiders has not allowed<br \/>\nYou be the nation you should be: proud<br \/>\nAs red rivers your nation bleeds&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>But time in time in its own way<br \/>\nWill solve the war, and there will stay<br \/>\nA peace of sorts when men will say<br \/>\nIt will never be the same&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>And the West should hang their head<br \/>\nFor in the history books to come it will be said<br \/>\nThat all of Iraq&#8217;s innocent dead<br \/>\nAre a result of our acts of shame&#8230;<\/p>\n<p>You throw a chicken to a dog to stop its howl<br \/>\nFor it is annoying you when he does howl<br \/>\nBe not amazed when he tears the fowl<br \/>\nTo pieces&#8230; limb from limb.<\/p>\n<p>When you cast a land to anarchy<br \/>\nAs you don&#8217;t like the ruler, and its people are not free<br \/>\nDon&#8217;t be surprised when his successor is worse than he<br \/>\nFor there is always worse than him.<\/p>\n<p>Some day where the two rivers flow wide<br \/>\nThere will be if our time we bide<br \/>\nA peace, if not prosperity along the side<br \/>\nOf the waters, where the la along the banks.<\/p>\n<p>And war in its savage progression<br \/>\nAnd its tens of thousands dead all in procession<br \/>\nShall cede to peace and its profession<br \/>\nThats its success owes to us in the West no thanks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The land between where two rivers flow Wonders if ever peace again it will know Forgotten are the glories of long ago Where in the ground first was planted seeds&#8230; Land of Babylon: rocked now by explosions loud The meddling of outsiders has not allowed You be the nation you &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[702,3356,1794,31],"tags":[3357,3359,2538,1392,1795,3360,3358,1832,3361,2344],"class_list":["post-3370","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-arab-spring","category-iraq","category-islamic-state","category-war-on-terror","tag-aftermath-of-war-on-terror","tag-baghdad","tag-daesh","tag-iraq","tag-isis","tag-mesopotamia","tag-mosul","tag-saddam-hussein","tag-the-land-between-two-rivers","tag-war-on-terror","column","twocol"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7EI4f-Sm","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4343,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/santa-gets-a-letter-from-iraq\/","url_meta":{"origin":3370,"position":0},"title":"Santa Gets a Letter from Iraq","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"10th December 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Santa got a letter, a letter that broke his heart, Asked him for peace, to end a war that Santa did not start, All the child wanted was for the fighting to cease, That she could live without fear, and her land could know peace. Santy, you are powerful,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Christmas Poetry&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Christmas Poetry","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/christmas-poetry\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Santa Reading a Letter","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Santa-Reading-a-Letter.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Santa-Reading-a-Letter.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Santa-Reading-a-Letter.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/Santa-Reading-a-Letter.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1232,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/god-called-me-george\/","url_meta":{"origin":3370,"position":1},"title":"God Called Me: &#8220;George!&#8221;","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"5th July 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Bush: God told me to invade Iraq Ref: President 'revealed reasons for war in private meeting' By Rupert Cornwell 7 October 2005 http:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/bush-god-told-me-to-invade-iraq-509925.html President George Bush has claimed he was told by God to invade Iraq and attack Osama bin Laden's stronghold of Afghanistan as part of a divine mission\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Afghanistan&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Afghanistan","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/war-on-terror\/afghanistan\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1685,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/putting-the-cat-out-of-the-kitchen\/","url_meta":{"origin":3370,"position":2},"title":"Putting the Cat Out of the Kitchen","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"8th May 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Q2z15g5AQm4 We got the cat - Saddam - out of the kitchen, but we wrecked it in the process. Was it worth the cost of this Pyrrhic victory?","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cause for Pause&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cause for Pause","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/video-poetry\/cause-for-pause\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/Q2z15g5AQm4\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":569,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/911-a-tribute-poem\/","url_meta":{"origin":3370,"position":3},"title":"911 &#8211; A Tribute Poem","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"10th September 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=6-lZI-xFRq0 The War on Terror is the wrong response to 911, which I dont believe to be a conspiracy as circulates on the internet. As we remeber our brave fallen, lets remember the innocents who died and die in the American revenge wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and around the world...","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Cause for Pause&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Cause for Pause","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/video-poetry\/cause-for-pause\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/6-lZI-xFRq0\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1652,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/struggle-with-the-self\/","url_meta":{"origin":3370,"position":4},"title":"Struggle with the Self","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"22nd April 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Def: \"nafs\" the ego; Arabic History repeats itself again: In another land, blood is spilled In the name of purity By soldiers hand, people are killed In the name of piety: The Babylonic pride of men. God in whose name Indulging the nafs, others condemned As unworthy infidels Echoing laughs,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Islam&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Islam","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/islam\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"\"The nafs has a rosary and a Koran in its right hand, and a scimitar and a dagger in the sleeve.\" ~ Rumi","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Rumi-NAFS.gif?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Rumi-NAFS.gif?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Rumi-NAFS.gif?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/Rumi-NAFS.gif?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3401,"url":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/guernica\/","url_meta":{"origin":3370,"position":5},"title":"Guernica","author":"Tom\u00e1s \u00d3 C\u00e1rthaigh","date":"15th October 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"They fled in terror as from the sky... Rained death, and wondered why And how the world to this had come As the Luftwaffe they saw That from Germany had come In the words first Shock and Awe... And as the world seen its sort again As America invaded Iraq,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Iraq&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Iraq","link":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/category\/war-on-terror\/iraq\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Painting by Picasso, poem by O' C\u00c3\u00a1rthaigh, atrocity by Germany Remembered by Everybody ","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.writingsinrhyme.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/Guerenica.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3370","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3370"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3370\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3371,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3370\/revisions\/3371"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3370"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3370"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writingsinrhyme.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3370"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}