JFK, MLK, RFK all shot dead
Rabin and Sadat both shot dead
Nasrallah and the Ayatollah slain
Reagan, Trump, so many others shot at
Who aspires to international leadership
Death the price of membership
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Persian Gulf, 3 A.M.
Black water cradles burning ships,
their hulls like supplicant hands raised~
oil laps the shore in crimson strips.
Tehran at Dawn
The muezzin's cry splits dawn in two~
one half prayer, half shrapnel's hymn.
The saffron fields drink rocket dew.
After the Ayatollah
The regime plants mines where his voice once grew,
harvesting fear from the dunes and sand.
The wind still chants his verses blue.
In Shi’ite Muslim quarters
No matter that tens of thousands of lives he aborted
The mourning for the Ayatollah Khomeini
Region-wide, worldwide ~ knows no borders
In Shi’ite eyes the Ayotollah was an inspiration
renowned for kindness region-wide
Patient leader of a fledgling superpower nation
A daring strike, a bold move
not without considerable risk
Taking out the vile Ayatollah Khomeini
and half his henchmen in broad daylight
Not one American life lost --
100% success
GONE! the lynchpins of earth’s most evil regime
since Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich
Take heart, lovers of freedom
opponents of totalitarianism
at this mighty blow
to fanatical religious nihilism
Don’t feel sorry for the Ayatollah
Just ‘cos that old man has to fly solo
Yes, he’s got to make a buck
But he is not out of luck
They say he’s a fine amateur bowler
S H O C K
The President of Iran wants to
‘talk to the people’
Says if the people are complaining
the leadership needs ‘go to hell’
& A W E --- F U L
For his part, the Ayatollah threatens
‘to put the rioters in their place’
A little birdie whispered in my ear
‘This isn’t going to come out well’
Epilogue: Ten rioters dead - so far
Americans were shocked and stunned
‘Reason’ abandoned, injustice had won
On Sept. 8, 1974, when President Ford exited the stage
The Republican right was left in fistic rage
While the Democrat left was aghast, How could Ford do this
The scales of justice, now so sorely amiss
To pardon a President, guilty in every possible way
of undermining the law and his opponent just didn’t play
It cost Ford the next election, ‘cos Richard Nixon he’d pardoned
Voters’ adverse reaction over two years so hardened
They elected an unknown, a neophyte named Carter
next to whom the Ayatollah Khomeini looked smarter
Yet the country moved on, hindsight thanked Ford
~ That Biden pardon Trump ~ start petitioning the Lord
When 1953 began
Iran’s oil annexation plan
Meant seizing our stuff
But the CIA’s tough
And installed the Shah as he-man
Since Iran’s parliament was dead
And Muslims brutally bled
The people rebelled
But what came next spelled
By an ayatollah they’d be led
When exiled the Shah became sick
The U.S. was his treatment pick
The prick of this deal
Our embassy did feel
Where the hostage taking was quick
We had Debbie Gibson,
And Motley Crew.
We had Jon Bon Jovi,
and Scooby-Do.
We had Axl Rose,
And MTV.
We had school
house rock,
And MR. T.
We had Alf,
And Pac-Man.
We had Doc Martins,
and Duran, Duran.
We had Boy George,
And Bill and Ted.
We have Ferris Bueller,
home sick in bed.
We had Where's the Beef,
and Robo-cop.
We had Thunder Cats,
And pudding pops.
We had Ayatollah,
And the Whopper.
We had Spud McKenzie,
And Cyndi Lauper.
We had Ziggy Stardust,
And Family Ties.
We had Michael Jackson,
and Hungry Eyes.
We had Rainbow Bright,
And Flash Dance.
We had Pee Wee Herman
And Puffy pants.
We had Led Zeppelin,
And David Bowie.
We had Pink Floyd,
And Chocolate
Chips Ahoy.
We had Jaws,
And Richard Pryor.
We had the
war on drugs,
and Easy Rider.
TURBO1904 ?
Who believe to be alive,
on this earth after death.
Who crave fame, Rial or crown,
hard to be a savior of mankind.
Decisive fatwa from best findings,
Grand Ayatollah blackclothed.
Mourning in the morning,
a lot of verses are amusing.
Iran ousted the Shah's tyranny,
backing a Muslim theocracy.
And hate crushed any hope of freedom,
for fear, demonized democracy.
Now, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
touts faith with a political twist.
An old popinjay stuck in the past,
he rules the land with an iron fist.
Don't accept religious slavery,
shout "Allah O Akbar!" from your roof.
And never forget those who were killed;
executed for crimes without proof.
Moussavi wants to be President,
stoking rage in the youth of Iran.
Neda's death is his rallying cry,
calling for the rights of every man.
Marchers, led by courageous women,
helped turn a trickle into a flood.
And history will remember them
as martyrs, willing to spill their blood.
(Quatrain)
7/10/2018
Higher learning in Iran we know
Is sometimes about long ago
Their school's short on praise
It's name starts a blame phrase
Which is ''Ayatollah U'' so!
Now I lay me down to sleep,
While in the world the homeless weep.
I thank you for the food I ate,
As hungry children expirate.
My clothes all have that fashion flare;
Their price would cover doctor's care
For towns of people who all thirst
For water run to chill it first.
I thank you God that Ayatollah
I have not met, nor faced Ebola!
I surely have done something great
To live the capitalist fate!
I thank you also for my brain
A high IQ, and not insane.
For in this fractured, dirt poor earth
You made me of superior worth!
I do not kill, I do not steal
And God replied: You do not HEAL!
You do not give, you do not feed,
You do not meet your neighbor's need.
So, while you think this life is nice,
Remember long and hard the price!
Help you not the least of these
Eternal life will not you please
So go to sleep, and pray to wake
For tis not Me your soul will take.
Day one, and there has been ominous activity
here in Tehran at the American Embassy.
Scores of fanatics have been stirred into a frenzy
by the religious leader known as Ayatollah Khomeini.
We are in a considerable disadvantage
by this rabble who intends to hold all of us hostage.
Our immediate future has been shrouded in doubt.
We did not take the opportunity to get out.
This mob appears implacable while their intentions are not clear.
I only wish to know how long they will keep us here.
ayatollah khomeini –
told people to –
incite a protest,
to go onto the roof tops
you know, nonviolent protest,
and scream um
god is great –
~ allah akbar
and to scream it only at night – -
- -
- so that –
when
people were
were listening
it would be like crickets - -
- the crickets at night,
and just hearing, and that feeling like –
people – joining in, and,
communicating with each other -
writing down
like their –
their nation’s –
diary
of what was happening
Sub Categories
Looking for the formal definition, structure, and history of this poetry form? Visit the Poetry Dictionary entry below. Then return to explore how PoetrySoup members bring the form to life through their own poems.