Best Iraq Poems
FOB Echo Iraq was a forward operation base near the Babylon site in the city of Diwaniya, in fact the US military put security hesco and fencing around the ruins for protection from all of the goons in the region. This was a hot base and the hajis would lob at least 3 salvos of mortar on us each day. February 06 i was walking from my CHU to the DFAC for lunch and i heard a rocket scream over head at low altitude, sounded like a high performance jet, about the most startling sound I've ever heard.. a hot second later the KBR laundry facility went up in an incredibly loud boom, a huge ball of fire, smoke, dust and debris ...... was the first to the entrance, the place was in flames and lying about 20 feet in the inside the door was the body of this cute girl wearing a blue KBR t shirt, she was folded in half.. i don't believe or at least i tell myself she didn't suffer or felt stress. i still see her face, just a cute girl, kind of mulatto, pretty, just trying to make a living and support her family back in the islands. Shortly after the US brought in Strikers and they raged havoc on the area for several weeks. That was and remained a hot base. Never so glad when i was on Cat Fish Air out of that hole... occasionally like last night, she comes to visit me in my dreams
One or two of us
Were home on leave;
For the rest of us,
Christmas came by mail.
Our callsign: Gunslingers.
Our Military Transition Team
Was embedded with
The "Triple Deuce" Iraqi Infantry,
For a year our home
Was LSA Diamondback
Mosul, Nineveh province,
In northern Iraq
A Team member's wife
Gave us all Santa hats.
I have an old photo
Of us standing on top
Of an old Iraqi bunker,
Bearing pistols, rifles,
And those Santa hats.
My wife sent a small
Plastic Christmas tree,
Which was decorated
In the Gunslingers' office.
My mom sent a warm quilt.
When you're acclimatized
To wearing battle armor
In the high 90s and 100s,
80-something feels cold!
I remember the nights--
Dark, but full of stars,
With Orion's belt
On the horizon.
Soldiers made bonfires
In the oddest places:
By a concrete shelter,
Or in classified burn pits.
Once exiting my office,
I saw a fire in the sky.
Soldiers were on top of a bunker
Drinking near-beer, singing.
Another night, I stood
Just outside of the light
Looking at some troops,
And the chiaroscuro image.
I went back to my "choo",
And penciled the scene.
To complete the masterpiece,
I inserted myself
Roasting marshmallos.
I went back to visit them,
Showed them the drawing,
Then completed the picture
By searing a marshmallow.
Christmas was what we made of it.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death;
I look at this war and I’m exhausted, and so out of breath!
I look to my spirituality for an answer to appear.
I’ve seen fellow marines die and “death” is what I ultimately fear!
The days seem to never end, and this desert is extremely hot!
I’ve witnessed the death of my friend and I ask God, why he got shot?
Yesterday, our platoon leader took a hit; two bullets to the back!
I want my country to know that we do this ---- for her and hope we make it out of Iraq!
I think about my family and I miss their warm and tender essence.
I wonder if my girlfriend thinks of me… I can’t wait to feel her presence.
I hope death doesn’t come for me; that I make it out of this hell hole.
I pray God forgives me for defending country; that I do not lose my soul!!
Soldiers dying
Children crying
In a strange and far off land.
Bullets killing
Bombs so chilling
This the work of our own hand?
We are the ones who did invade
Duped by leaders we did trust.
Misled by claims of mass destruction,
Hard to ask – but now we must.
Did our leaders so betray us -
Sell their souls for desert oil?
Have they shamed our mighty nation -
Brought dishonor to our soil?
Will we now repeat this process
Raining death on one and all?
While we try to kill the evil
All the innocents will fall.
The French word for ‘cockroach’ is ‘le cafard’.
In some contexts it can mean ‘depression’.
But for the soldiers always standing guard,
‘Avoir le cafard’ refers to boredom.
I’ve heard war has been described as follows:
“Ninety percent boredom, the rest: TERROR”.
It’s true for those hiding in their hollows,
Whether combatant or stretcher-bearer.
My times in combat zones weren’t too awful.
I heard the occasional “BOOM!” or “CRACK!”.
Of friends that I knew that went to Mosul,
Everyone (Some shrapnel wounds) made it back.
But I knew some who never came back home;
At least one who suicided at home.
I'am always thirsty.
Yerning for your love.
Though you are so far away.
your all i'am thinking of.
The days are long and lonely.
The nights are restless.
The children fight.
The money is tight.
And all I think of is you.
You made a sacrific.
For all the world to see.
But you've always been a hero,
To our children and to me!
Do not be a hero.
Keep your head down low.
I will be there with you.
My heart will follow where ever you may go.
I
The historical record shows many intimate connections between Arabs, Muslims, Hebrews and Jews, and Babylon. The nation we equate with Israel began as tribes in the deserts of Arabia. Some of them were allies, some opponents, of the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). However, we know his Uncle-in-law was Jewish via Khadijah, and helped the Prophet reject the fear he was insane, for hearing Gabriel speak some of the Old Testament scriptures to him.
II
The synagogue system of worship was begun in Ira q (Babylon)
III
Tel Aviv was a famous Jewish city in Iraq, before it was "revived" in present - day Israel.
IV
Strictly-speaking "Jews" refer to Jesus' tribe, as He is the Lion of Judah; the other 11 tribes of ancient Israel (Hebrew tribes) are the ten tribes of old Israel then called Samaria, or Ephraim with Samaria as the capital. The remaining tribe of Benjamin - from which the great missionary Paul (Saul) descended - was located in JUDEA, or the Southern Kingdom (with Jerusalem as capital).
V
As i pointed out previously, the Samaritans have survived for millennia near Mount Gerizim (adjoining Nablus, in the Occupied West Bank - which some Israelis call SAMARIA even today). They were persecuted by Arabs and Jews as neither fish nor fowl, especially during the 1940s, and during intifadas. West_bank Samaritans remained neutral, declaring their connection with Abraham through Jacob (Yakov) son of Isaac, grandson of Abraham. In the parables, Jesus spent much time showing the Samaritans as "good" and worth saving. Samaritans were not allowed to buy land in Israel after 1948; an exception was made in 1950s near Tel Aviv. Recently UKRAINIAN women are recruited as brides for the dwindling Samaritan population (GOOGLE this). Thanks to Israeli scholars who proved the Samaritan story in the 1950s.
shalom, shalom. Yes, we have differences, but we have much in common!
NOTES:
1. Khadijah, the Prophet's first wife, was a business man, and likely a Christian. Her father, Khuwaylid Ibn Asad was also leader in Quresh tribe.
2. Her relative, Warak -al-Naufal (sometimes El-NORFIL) was a Christian and a minister. Of course he used the Bible in Arabic (as ME Christians still do).
letter to Iraq
beneath your skin lies terror,
your sons and daughters die young
i have seen their limbs tread on bombs ,
play grounds for dead bodies.
death comes by night to orphan children by morning.
for what purpose does life serve when mothers bury their young?
school classrooms for refuge camps,
streets that were once rivers has turned to blood baths
where children miss their mosque prayers to pick their fathers dead bodies.
your air heavy like your lungs are shackled by tears
hunger pangs for bomb blasts,
another house demolished like a broken heart,
i have seen how media bandages wrap your wounds
without knowing timeless sepsis,
your lips keep uttering silent prayers
for knees have been crushed to the grounds,
your cracks are seen on the silence of your wounded soul.
from a humanitarian.
allah-ukhba
Patches of white Virburnum
like piles of snow on the ground.
Birds, with enchanting songs,
carol in the first light.
Acres of clover weed, white,
carpet the spaces between the trees.
White petals blow like snowflakes in the gentle breeze.
In minds’ eyes the scenery froze,
then night falls, and the white moon glows.
Fireflies like mini lights
decorate the warm summer night.
“Baby, I …”
She put her finger to his lips,
and melts like a snowman with every kiss.
She whispers to him softly,
With lips still on lips:
“Baby you are my Christmas gift.”
you enter into my innermost calmness
chafed naught a crawling grapevine
and speared mustered seeds I'd beckoned
your tenderness your infamous timely
sorted kisses morbidly missed over time
driving over gravel searching for hidden
scents of blushing rosebuds that catered
to my senses why I'd explored your shyness
that emptied my kindness beyond a darkened
cave a sinking floor causing me to blush
beneath the mauve sky hidden
along Baghdad's humble shoreline
All U.S. soldiers are putting their lives on the line in Iraq for our freedom. It's like a
modern-day version of World War II and the Gulf War. Despite the armed forces' efforts to
fighting for our freedom, they suddenly get killed by suicide bombs or wounded, thereby
being torn limb from limb. There's always a problem with the military soldiers getting
shot in the brain or wherever. George W. Bush, who was the President of the United States
of America at the time, was really wrong for sending the troops to Iraq, knowing that the
men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces would be injured or killed. But despite the war in
Iraq and our troops sacrificing their lives for our freedom and the capture of Suddam
Hussan, this war is still haunting all of us U.S. civilians. But then, when it came to
going against the Iraqis, it was worth it. I hope America doesn't go to war, again.
Hey Mr. President Obama, it's time to wake up from your loooooong
sleep and see what's happening in Iraq! It was your decision to remove
all troops and advisers from Iraq, now there are thousands being brutally murdered
and buried in mass graves as I write this! The Buck Stops at your oval room desk and
you are responsible to take immediate action on this massacre, every hour you delay
more families are losing their fathers, and their deaths are on your watch. Is this going
to be your legacy? Sitting idle while genocide is being committed? The whole world is watching
you, so what is the next move Mr. Commander-In-Chief? In your move to please the voters
you have made a grievous error in judgement, the Republicans are right on this one,
it's time to drop the arrogant stubborn attitude
and act like a leader and also a compassionate human being!
If not, your Presidential legacy
will be a complete DISASTER!
Very sincerely,
Robert William Gruhn
IRAQ
Three and a half decades of tyranny and death, unrelenting
until the end, there’s always more to perish.
Dictator extraordinaire, mass murderer, genocidal maniac,
you are death – an awesome man capable of anything, invading
your neighbours, gassing your own people, acquiring weapons
of mass destruction, no one is like you.
And then the clock ticks and hour glass runs dry,
your days are numbered, then you fall by the wayside, over.
What will they do to you? Interrogate and learn your secrets
or shoot you down like a dog?
Your country is in ruins, a shell of a corpse,
nothing left but anarchy with suicide bombings, murder and kidnap.
A terrorist’s paradise for any young anarchist, a hero’s death is assured.
In the name of Allah, kill the enemy, destroy America!
What will happen in a year? Will it all be over
or just the start of a civil war, doing Satan’s work?
Look at the bible
it was written as a rock thrown to the future
in case history repeated itself
and there was yet another religious war
here it is
in our presence
bullets and bombs
and enemies who have no reason to hate
send someone in there with a plan to slide
some signs
to get the women and children out of the arena of death
known as their village
that is under attack by evil
a satanic massacr of men hypnotised by demons
send someone in there
to lead them out
a stage an act a subtle plan of candle in the window
church bells
and bakeries closing for the food for the road
for even jesus fed his followers a crumb a day
dont fall into that trap
plan and plan
history has repeated itself
jesus saw it
threw a rock into the future and is trying to tell us
we have to work together
get the innocent out
turn the war zone nightmare into a ghost town
and lead the refuges of the nightmare somewhere else
was no one listening to the gospel
the chines
the indian
the jewish the german
all the bibles have prophecies to help mankind in the future
right now its english
put your plans in action instead of watching the innocent suffer
where is the love
atree has a price
think of lumber and paper
a bird cost to catch it and put it in a zoo
a human life is priceless
learn from jesus
lead them
like a thief in the night
out of the nightmare
with a subtle plan when history repeats itself
and turn the nightmare to a ghost town
nothing more to fight over
an dthen the next religion can shine
They say a man that knows no fear
can never be truly brave
and the man who points the gun
will never be enslaved
we set you free from tyranny
with tanks and bombs and planes
we hope this brings you comfort
as you lay down in your graves