Best Assyrian Poems
The sun had grown dark on that fearful day
When Rabshakah, the Assyrian entered the fray;
Their armor and weapons glittered like gold
As they surged ’cross the plains to storm Israel’s fold.
But Hezekiah the king sought the Lord in prayer
To beseech God Almighty, His mercy to share;
The Lord would respond, then gave His command
To smite the Assyrian and deliver the land.
The Assyrian hordes were filled with flawed pride
Their faith in false gods, their treacherous guide;
They mounted their horses to charge for the gain
In their lust for the power that would end in pain
For the angel of death smote Sennacherib’s camp
And the fires of war were put out like a lamp;
The fields of green grass were transformed to a flood
That flowed on the ground as rivers of blood.
The legions lay dead with their eyes opened wide
And the host of their horses lay dead at their side;
The wind stole their cry from the pride of their breath
And gave its revenge in the silence of death.
The sons and the wives in their sorrow now weep
For the sickle of death had a harvest to reap;
The battle was won by the grace of the Lord
Who humbles the proud with the truth of His Word.
Isaiah 36 and 37
Ancient tombs, of long ago times
Byblos, the walled city, fortress and shrines
Shrouded in mystery, wisdom's, and thyme
The Phoenicians sailed from this very port
Their ships full of knowledge and the alphabet too
And the peoples from times long forgotten
The ancestors of merchants in the souks of now
The oldest city, charmed by the sea
The churches of St Peter, tell the prophecy
Praise the heavens, the God of your heart
In the language of Jesus, love never parts
Aramaic wisdom's, true to this day
Praise God, his love never swayed
Love of mankind
Love of your soul
Love of the creator
Marhaba
---
Marhaba is an Arabic word used in the Middle East as “Hello”.
But most people don’t know its source
Marhaba comes from a Syriac (Aramaic, Assyrian) origin and was used by the first Christians
Mar = Master or God
Haba =Love
Marhaba = God is love
As Catholic churches still give masses in Latin, The Maronite Church still gives sermons in the ancient language of Jesus, Aramaic.
Byblos is an ancient city in Lebanon, Byblos is the Greek name for the Phoenician city called Gebal. Today it is believed by many to be the oldest continuously-inhabited city in the world.
Prince of this world,
you've meddled in the affairs of mankind
since the beginning
From the time of the Egyptian pharaohs,
whose gigantic pyramidal tombs
had been built primarily by slave labor
A living testament to man's ingenuity and cruelty
Then you were behind the Assyrian reign,
carnage was the calling card hallmark
these fierce kings signed whenever they came
But the Babylonian kingdom you really liked a lot,
ancient free market traders and slavers
Their god was commerce;
they bought and sold any and everything,
they trafficked in any and every whatnot
Then came those warring factions of Persians and Medes,
pure lovers of aristocratic indulgences of greed
They would fight you to the death,
until the Greeks came along
and became the gold standard, the best
They loved to preach democracy,
they loved to practice idolatry
For every god you said you had,
those Greeks said they had three
The Greeks fell to the next kingdom,
not so much by war, more through debauchery
But the prince of this world
came out of the shadows,
and was moved to want to rule when the Romans came
They had them lying cats named Caesar,
and crucifixion was their favorite capital punishment game
The Romans learned a lot from their fellow Greeks;
give the conquered their councils,
give them a voice with a vote
Then let them exercise it wickedly,
declaring the innocent Jesus Christ guilty
Oh, the prince of this world
was as ecstatic as a mad despot can be
The Romans were the best kind of servants ---
they were cruel, they were hard
They killed you dead with no regard
But alas, even their mighty kingdom came to an end
Since then, all of his wicked servants
and their feudal kingdoms have served him well
But alas, it was the Roman kingdom
he brooded over the most when it came to an end
And it's been a long time, since the prince of this world
had a Caesar he could call friend
The Beheading of Nînwe
Ninwe is the ancient Syriac name for Mosul
(not to be confused with the ancient Assyrian city of Nineveh)
Burned books
Dead poets
Dark ages of Mosul
Smattered relics
Islamic horrors
Dark ages of Mosul
Education denied
Blind minds cutting out eyes
Dark ages of Mosul
Evil hearts
Dark Souls
Rulers in Mosul
The golden age of Islam long ago
Evil winds have blown
Now they live in darkness
In Burka tears
Fear
For years
Crucified Christians
Run run run
The museum is closed in Mosul
Wearing her zippered jumpsuit of lime
My queen loves to survey the valley's field.
She dreams of finding a perfect place and time
She can make her dream city something real.
Megiddo was an ancient and famous city
Where starting at Solomon's gate then entering in,
Delight, pleasance and joy showed no pity,
And t'was no comfort not to be found within.
This proud city of great power and zeal--
The glory of some rare ancient engineer--
Has seen dust fly from many a chariot wheel,
When victorious kings came to holiday here.
Perhaps ancient Israel's most splendid city,
It soon captured every kingdoms' eye.
A diadem of the Jezreel Valley so pretty,
It invoked the kiss of the Assyrian sky.
Surrounded by its high double-thick stone walls,
Megiddo’s palaces did lavishly and amply abide,
Containing their ornamentally furnished halls,
With towers, storehouses, and courtyards alongside.
And then there are temples—believed to be three,
With vestibules for believers to enter in.
Then of course the altar for only the holy to see,
Where doctrines are given a positive spin.
Where’er perfect foundation might lay,
My queen shall find a delightful field.
And there to be in full domain and array,
The promise of Eden most
empyreal.
My mind is euphoric from scenes historic
Assyrian chariots innovative wheels bristling Mesopotamian plains
Paring the ranks of each, dated infantry formation
In Greece, anesthetizing anvil of the Dorian invasion
Glorious bronze relics supplanted by cheaper iron distillation
Persian armies: Greek hoplites, Scythian archers; mercenary aggrandization
Shrinking rebel hordes in Asia Minor's wars of attrition
The venal nature of imperial Rome's persuasion
Crucifying a few, targeted rebels for cultural ingratiation
Devout, gentile Europeans crusading to Biblical heritage's door
Defacing cross with predations in route, arriving uplifting banner 'gainst infidel Moor
Normans in hordes splashing across the chilly, English channel tides
Under William the Conqueror's mantra, bridging the Anglo-Saxon divide
Emerald shiny baubles
attract wizard eyes ...
Balaam al-Oz
Assyrian acquisitions
be kryptonite-colored vanity
Ownership is an Alexandrian transaction,
a Grecian war rhetoric reaction
Gehazi greedy ...
take all that your Philistine soul see,
as much as your twelve fingers can reach
Sennacherib eyes bald eagle beady,
tilt the full treasure chest pirate empty
Hard diamond negotiator sue for peace,
brook of deceit bubbling sulfuric words acidly
Assyrian babbler
baring the saber sharp tiger teeth
Asking for more and more
shiny baubles ,
more than a Rab-shakeh heart could ever need
Baal belly lust consume:
Pure Pul gluttony, covetous Jareb vomiting
Iscariot greedy ...
betray any and everybody
for the precious metal blood money
Venusian discovery:
Jupiter begat Mars,
typical mythical anti-hero morality
Pharaoh pyramid schemes,
beryl baubles
shining in Caesar’s coffer coffin dreams
Kill the Tyrus body ... then kill the Magog zombie spirit arising:
don't vow pitbull loyalty to a low-born licentious liege
Count the death cost for the Sisera hostile takeover campaign,
calculate the Tartan war price for the protracted siege
Assyrian babbler
don’t wanna pay for the Wall
No more dead presidents
jaded green leaves gon windfall
Assyrian babbler
you’re gonna pay for the Wall
Taxing dead presidents
levee green sacks gon Jericho fall
Assyrian babbler
give the last tour of duty trump call
Do Angels tread on the souls of man?
Guardian to every soul that is conceived
Enlighten knowledge of Heaven in us he weaves
But at our birth he clips our upper lip
And Heaven's knowledge we all forget
Until our days on earth are done
He gathers our Spirits and Heaven's ways are reopened.
Prince of First Heaven, God's Chief Minister seated at His Left Hand
Thunder and Majesty, Beauty and Grace, Cherubim at his command
Great annunciator to Blessed Virgin he revealed
The sacred Birth of her Son our Savior into this world
Guardian of the Garden of Eden, Daniel's dream he reveals
Buried the Law Giver Moses, Assyrian army he kills
Sodom and Gomorrah he burned to the earth
Yet sings songs of praise at the Saviors Birth
Did he not dictate to Muhammad the Qur'an?
Did he not carry him into Heaven so grand?
Angel of mercy of vengeance and annunciation
Angel of death of resurrection and revelation
Archangel of the Lord to Truth he does speak
For on Judgement Day all strong and weak
Gabriel shall sound the mighty Trumpet Blow
All of creation God's Judgement shall know.
God is my strength Gabriel means
High Prince of Heaven to our King
His symbol is of the lily white
In radiance his glory bright.
Do angels tread on the souls of men?
But with prayer they are called to our command
Human beings are created in the image of the Supreme
And only through Salvation can we become eternal beings
Even angels perish if they lose God's favor
Only Humans by Free Will have the Savior.
Gabriel do you delay our Judgement Day
To prolong your place in Heaven stay
For once that mighty Trumpet Blow begins
Does the life of Gabriel come to an end?
she had a mind like a brushfire
ate the testicles of men at a glance
and knew how to foreplay
my weaknesses like loaded dice
I was in a state of moral exhaustion
seeking the counsel of voodoo princesses
in an emaciated Assyrian odyssey
laced into the spokes of her chariot
people who are honest are always in trouble
I know she won't always have
the sickle moon ass she has now
but I needed her help to get out on parole
having been caught collaborating
with the lead in my pencil
handwriting analysis gave me up
darkness blends with truth
confessing under a hot comb
to nothing but having looked at the stars
you can't put a fence around it
being the only ethical conclusion
I tried a last ditch gambit
but she liked living with a gun to my head
much more than I did
because it amuses me is no answer
gimme your brains cowboy
or I'll blow them across the room
she had already cut out my heart
blew it up like a rubber balloon
my prayers did absolutely nothing
and I go shopping for an online exorcist
as it jets about the room
upsetting the cat shocking the monkey
and giving the turtle a manic episode
which for him was an entire historic epoch
answering the age old question
where do we hide the body
but in plain sight so here I am
I amused her and we married
even a sociopath will enlist
after an ass kicking by the Gods
we're all hungry for a new day after all
don't kill your TV
give it to someone
who knows how to use it
to read trail sign
From "Engine of Didactic Beauty" available on Amazon
Artist Portfolio: http://walteralter.site11.com/
The hill had stood on its plain for eons
between the mountains and the Sea,
Still, quiet, barren,
As the wind blew across it
And the stars shifted,
When a hunter
Eight thousand years ago
Saw the spring at its base
And lived for awhile on its summit
Then died.
Other people came and settled on the hill
And built a village,
And, after many years,
A small city,
And then, for unknown reasons, left.
Many more cities were built on the hill:
Walled cities that lived for a while
But were in their turn burnt and destroyed
By great armies from distant empires,
Or were simply abandoned.
Each destroyed city,
Each abandoned city
Left behind a layer of debris
Of collapsed buildings and toppled walls.
And so, slowly, the hill grew.
But each time a new city
Was built atop the remains of the older ones
By new peoples
Drawn to the hill by its spring
And its promise of refuge.
Canaanite merchants, Hittite soldiers, Hebrew prophets,
Assyrian generals, Greek stone cutters,
Byzantines, Saracens, Crusaders;
Each in their time came
And left their imprint before passing on.
But there came a day
when the ground moved
And the spring dried up.
Then the people moved away,
And no one came to build there anymore.
And the wind blew across it
And the dust settled
And buried its streets and walls.
And once more
The hill stood still and quiet.
Until
Men and women from a distant university
Came to dig through its layers
To bring to light the ancient traces
Of the life that had once lived there.
(This was inspired by James Michener's novel "The Source". )
Kingdoms and countries fill the earth,
King and Queen, Prince and Princess wisely
Reign empire with providence sovereignty,
Royal rank, authority, and power with ties key.
Ancient Egyptian Empire also Hittite and Babylonian
Large empires Assyrian, Persian, and Median realms prong,
World of Roman Empire ruled for centuries long,
Carolingian Empire reigning in the old-world throng.
New world Incan and Mayan Empire taken over
Spanish Empire liked the gold and shipped to their king,
British Empire the sun never set grew far and wide
Austria-Hungary large European kingdom covering wing.
American and Canada countries in growth
Switzerland selling Swiss chocolate welcome sweet tooth,
Israel, Ireland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania independent
Australia, Portugal, Italy countries display the voting booth.
Foraging through time's annals
Peering through the faded panels
Catching a glint through corroded channels
Seeking the sallowing bridges to re-enamel
Shuffling along desert lanes beaten down by Assyrian
chariot trains
Walking subsumed Royal Persian road, linking cultural
chains
Striding through exhumed Alexandrian cities'
ethnocentric strains
Strolling pebbled Roman boulevards accentuated by
aqueduct drains
Riding the Mongolian steppes listening to the murderous
refrains
Traipsing through gold-crowned Ottoman mosques
sprouting Christian veins
Lumbering penitently along Via Dolorosa grasping
sacrificial blood stains
Babylon's Rising
I made my way to the grocery store
just like I did so many times
in the years before
asked the baker for some fresh unleavened bread
he looked at me as if to say what for
then one in the isle looked up with a smile
as he was moping the floor
pointed to a box on the shelf and said
"for you our finest cardboard"
upset the baker said,
"we have no time for it mister
we are busy making cakes with eggs and jellybeans
and we have to be done in time for Easter"
Baal and his bride must be very proud
dwelling in the promised land like her master
hunting eggs an Assyrian tradition
and traditions give Gods their honor
for this I fear
that our ancient past will become our future
and the promised land will be laid waste
for we prefer the Gods of another
Babylon's rising
and those who wear her number
are the same
as those who give her strength and power
who will walk away
walk away
walk away
who will come and walk with me today
and in the spirit I pray
that our children will be OK
and understand the things that I say
that they might inherit my lord's kingdom
after the judgment day
Venezuelans have taught me to laugh
Assyrian refugees how to cry
Russians have taught me diligence
Hindus to face hard times with a sigh
Koreans have taught me courtesy
Thais a sense of wonder
Mongolians have taught me love of country
Africans that they are NOT down under
Greeks have taught me exuberance
Turks a sense of humor
Saudis have taught me humility
Romanians, not to believe mere rumors
My job is to teach them all English, as best I can
The truth is that they have taught me, how to be a good man!
Underground bunker earworms
love to listen
to the Archie messaging
Rapt in their sheltered atomic blast,
dreamy past rewind,
they snore ignore
their borrowed time destiny
On a seethe countdown crawl,
they uranium breed much cesium fungi
Cloven mushroom tongues that fire breathe
pestilent spores of destruction —
Dark clouds of cellular division
is the Adam-splitting condition
that expands collapsing global economies
Jagged sandworm teeth,
with the overturned hourglass underbelly,
are insular wielding their unstable weaponry
They devour the olive green leaf of peace
with carnivorous cankerworm ease
Fear lovers of violent pleasures
take heed
Eve of extinction
comes upon the cause careless
like a thief
New Assyrian society,
oh how their Sennacherib hearts
Stone Age bleed —
The time space for repentance
is near zero,
needle point ticking
A conscience prick seems only to get
their radioactive rage attitude a-burrowing
Crawling deeper into the crass core of their cobalt being,
their wormwood deeds are Nineveh calling