what rough beast

iraq is the quickening
of the crusader
night mare & arab
blood––

the trampling ground
of the cross

the caliphate of
gold

the genuflecting
colony

the imperial invention of an officious
pen

the world war
amputee

the oil bizarre

the cia pet

the American pawn

the pre-emptive miscarriage

of a smoldering,
unnecessary
hell.