Pray for the Peace of Fallujah

Morning in Al-Fallujah

Morning will break over the city of towers,
the light of the new day will bathe the brown city
in a warm light - melting the tears and healing
the shell-pocked hearts and streets.
Morning will come, when all eyes will turn to the
Morning-bringer.

Faith hope and love will break anew in Fallujah;
The Morning-bringer remembers and will not forget
the threefold Babylon-sent gifts:
frankincense, gold and myrrh
lavished upon a semitic child by Magi following the
Morning-star.

Yes, even now morning is breaking over the towers,
and eyes of children welcome the sight!
God is a witness of everything and verily
the Lord's assault is terrible:  He is the Forgiving,
the Loving One, He who accomplishes that which He intends.
First as Morning-star and now as Morning-bringer.

Fallujah (al-Fallujah in Arabic) is a city of 350,000 in the Iraqi province of Al Anbar, 43 miles west of Baghdad on the Euphrates river.  Within Iraq, it is known as the "city of towers" or the "city of mosques" for the more than 200 mosques found in the city.

" And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts."  (II Peter 1:19)

From the Surat al-Buruj:  The Towers (Sura 85 from the Koran)
"But God is a witness to everything.  Verily, those who vexed the believing men and the believing women, and then did not repent, for them is the punishment of Gehenna, for them is the punishment of the burning.  But those who have believed and worked works of righteousness, for them are the gardens beneath which rivers flow.  That is a great success.

Verily the Lord's assault is terrible.  He it is who originates and restores.  And He is the Forgiving, the Loving One, Lord of the Throne, the Glorious One, He who accomplishes that which He intends."

Comments

[hal]

can agree with peace in fallujah and all of iraq but i can't see how imposing christianity is going to either work or be in the best interests of the iraqi people.

[Greg]

Hi Hal,
Here's another poem I wrote yesterday about this situation:

Rise, O Morning-star! Rise in Fallujah.
Rise in the hearts of the battered,
Rise in the hearts of the militants,
Rise in the hearts of the Marines.
Bring in the Day, O Morning-bringer!
For Your Kingdom may the world see.
Toward Your Kingdom, O Lord, draw
these that will kill
these that will bleed
these whose hearts will be torn in two.
Bring in the Day, O Lord.

[Greg]

Let me add these thoughts...

First off, I don't think the U.S. is imposing Christianity on Iraq. If this is what you think I'm advocating then you've misunderstood my intentions. The position I took in the poems is one of "rising above" the conflicts currently raging in the Middle East - Arab vs. Jew, U.S. vs. Islamacist, Muslim vs. Christian, etc. If you noticed I even included a quotation from the Koran in the poem (something some Christians may lambast me over).

To me, the issue here is that, despite the tremendous mess humans have made in the Middle East (in this case specifically Iraq), I believe God Almighty is at work. God rises ABOVE the equations I listed above : Jew/Arab, U.S./Islamacist, Muslim/Christian/Jew. This would be better published as a blog entry post rather than in the comment section so I need to gather my thoughts for that.

Thank you, nonetheless, for commenting.

[Linda]

Wow, Greg!! The poems and the picture are beautiful. Yes, I, too believe God Almighty is at work today. I pray for True Peace in Fallujah -- for the residents of Fallujah as well as the soldiers. Bless you.

[Natala]

Praying for peace, and an end to all of the suffering soon. Thanks for reminding me that I need to be keeping this at the front of my thoughts..

[bernd]

wee also pray for your peace in fallujah
cheers mate
bernd

[jill]

greg;
REally appreciated poem about Fallujah. You beautifully put into words some of my own thoughts regarding the pressence of God in the midst of everything even the chaos of war. Hi is ultimately in control. The knowledge of his Sovereignity is what gives me peace about Amy's involvement there. My brother -in-law who has just left Iraq and now is in Germany as his wife faces danger daily had this to say. "We need to come to terms with the concept that none of us..either in our safe civilized US homes or in the chaos of the war in Iraq are guaranteed a tomorrow. Life is not chance or a roll of the dice....There is a bigger presece here...when you get to a place of understanding that, then the peace comes..."