The Ballad Of The Fleas

By John Walker Lindh

September 24, 2010 

It’s said that black death spread by fleas

On backs of rats they rode

One fateful autumn thus they came

With vengeance as their codeLike blight they spread from crags to plains

To hilly dusty turf

To rocky lunar landscapes ‘neath

The rooftop of the earth

 

They hid behind the highest clouds

To fly as swift as sound

With daisy cutters cluster bombs

And spies upon the ground

 

*

 

Their leader stepped out swaggering

Declaring a crusade

He called the world to follow him

And most of them obeyed

 

For wolves may foam and bark and bite

And gnash and gnaw and hiss

But if a sheep should dare bite back

He’d be a terrorist

 

The knights of Malta raised their spears

The knights Templars came next

The rabble cheered them in the streets

Priests quoted Bible texts

 

*

 

Their quislings all crawled out to them

Each kneeled to give his oath

They squealed and cried “Islam is peace”

But disbelieved in both

 

They ushered ashen donkeys forth

Jackasses bearing scrolls

They brayed in fervent fever pitch

For dollar bills in rolls

 

The words they spoke those days were such

That had he known their name

Old Abdullah Ibnu Ubayy

Would cringe and blush in shame

 

*

 

They send their drones to level homes

And blow up wedding feasts

They heap more arms in warlords’ hands

To spread democracy

 

They roam at night to break down doors

To search and strip and rape

To bind and kidnap anyone

To shoot those who escape

 

With muzzles full of lofty talk

Free speech and human rights

They drive out millions from their land

And say it’s worth the price

 

*

 

An aid worker clerk or farmer

Sold like a modern slave

Gets beaten by their boots and guns

And thrown into a cage

 

He’s sat upon and spat upon

Broke by the brave and free

By brave crusaders brave and bold

As brave as brave can be

 

If they but knew that with each act

Of torture and abuse

Around the neck of Uncle Sam

They tighten up the noose

 

*

 

Mirages in the distance glow

Lads line up in the queue

As one more body bag comes back

Hid from the public view

 

A blistered bloated jarhead face

Deep purple findernails

A smell seeps out that’s foul enough

To cleanse a man’s entrails

 

Their rulers lurch and boast and strut

But keep far from the fray

They swoon and quake from fear to tread

Where lurking lions lay

 

*

 

As tawheed’s caravan moves on

And marches in the dusk

The crimson wound of one of them

Emits the scent of musk

 

To rule God’s earth by God’s own law

They sacrifice their lives

They spill their lifeblood willingly

Until God’s help arrives

 

Although victory entices them

What soothes them even more

Is hope to enter gardens lush

With honey milk and hur

 

*

 

Where stars and stripes and Union Jacks

And NATO flags once flew

Black banners rise in Khurasan

In hands of every hue

 

Just as how warsteeds’ coats are cleaned

And purged of lice and fleas

The cavalcade of martyrs fights

An empire to its knees

 

All praise and thanks are due to God

To Him alone they bowed

And peace be on His messenger

Whose face beams in his shroud

 

Abu Sulayman al-Irlandi

Detainee #001

Ramadan 1431
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