Guerillas In The Shrub

by Ruhudeen Ali

Of the twenty-one soldiers in the unit to maneuver with

Pvt. Po is now the most useless;

always making bad decisions

forgetting his original mission

when releasing captives his aim was to relieve

yet other times when doing so it led to grief

most of the time sitting there looking smug

uniformed & camouflaged,

hanging around just to see what's up

while mostly hungover, he often threw up

'he's not ready for war' says the Commander

'he lives for no purpose great, unlike Alexander'

though he was not always this way

Po was once a hero in his day

once given a mission only he could fulfill

he was given two helpers, he knew the drill

They were three musketeers, always looking for a ride

Corporal Po, causing trouble for his buddies by his side

like guerillas in the thick shrub searching for light

fighting to release their friends was their plight

Cpl. Po sought a cozy retreat to seek refuge in

so he could form his organization

with the aim that membership grow

and allow the seeds of tomorrow to flow

but at the time the fight was intense

and the number of soldiers dying, immense

finding the base was difficult

so they searched for the supply line like an umbilical

thinking it would lead to the fortress

Once discovered, they had to seize the chance

it was a delicate dance

capturing the base would give them an audience with the Empress

allowing her to concede so they could conceive peace

but the orders from their general were to infiltrate, not negotiate

yet the fortresses' walls were impregnable

and so the three retreated, dishonored & ashamed

mission failed- they returned scarred & maimed

they could not look up to their dreams the same way

thus they were demoted to privates again

And now the three stooges- Harry, Curly & Po

are never put on assignments anymore

they party up their days on army pay

always together, some even wonder if they're gay

but they're just three buds who could've had it all

but instead they lost the battle, and succumbed to the fall.

Palestine!

Black for the darkness of a desperate occupation 

White for their mourning & lamentations 

Green for the peace for which they pray

Red for the blood wherein their heroes lay

Palestine!

My Thoughts on the M.E Conflict, War & Peace

I truly hope that I see real, sincere, and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians before I die. This is a global human tragedy that is solvable. I refuse to accept otherwise. My mother taught me that there is no problem in the world that cannot be solved except death. I believe that all the worlds' brilliant influential minds, beloved and charismatic personalities, powerful and affluent, and tolerant, open hearts can help achieve an agreeable settlement, overcome hatred, ignorance and politics. Sometimes the power of forgiveness, common good-will, acceptance and change is a stronger force than the threat of nuclear weapons, power struggles, persuasions of money, zealous religious beliefs, nationalism/racism etc. We've seen it before in our human history. The human family cannot allow this travesty to continue for decades more to come. This conflict is at the root of global antisemitism (yes, of both Jews & Arabs) and its resultant spillage of extremism, racism, and ethnophobia of other forms, the war on terror and other terrorist movements since the 20th century. War is not good business. Money is not the holy grail of life. Respect is not just achieved through fear and deterrence. Might is not always right. Power and control is not a sign of divine sanction. Religious faith does not equate with moral superiority and belief does not guarantee one is categorically correct. The freedom, peace, and dignity of ALL humans matters and affects us all. Enough is enough. It's time for a change- indeed it has been long since.