Readings between the pipeline

Hommage to Babylon

Middle East Sun

Middle East Fire

The rich flood plain lies in the land between the rivers…

Homage to Babylon

Oldest texts ever written

The Sumerians explain the origins of human knowledge

with cuneiform engravings on clay tablets

Cylinder seals depict the power of the lion

The roots of civilization grow where the Tigris and Euphrates 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 Kalashnikovs 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