A Tale of Two Countries

Once upon a time,

There was a Distant Land--

In the north were hills and valleys,

In the south desert sand.

 

Once a powerful empire,

This land now faced a threat

From outside intervention

That many would regret.

 

It welcomed a Mighty Country's

Involvement from far away--

Not fully realizing

The role that it would play.

 

A group from the Mighty Country

Helped organize a coup,

Destabilizing the other

And setting things askew.

 

A new regime replaced

The one that had been deposed.

However, the regime's tyranny

Soon became disclosed.

 

Discontentment grew;

The leader fled for his life

And begged the Mighty Country

For asylum for himself and his wife.

 

The people in the Distant Land--

Angry and abused--

Wanted their leader returned;

The Mighty Country refused.

 

So, the people took

Matters into their own hands,

Taking fifty-two hostages

For negotiating demands.

 

For 444 days

Conditions remained very tense

Until the release of the captives.

The damage was immense.

 

"Be careful what you ask for"

Is a common phrase.

The Distant Land now suffered

Tyranny in other ways.

 

The new religious leader

Ruled with an iron fist

And added more names

To his enemy list.

 

Eventually, the Distant Country

Was attacked by its Neighbor,

Which received outside assistance

To help it sharpen its saber.

 

Help--for example--

From the Mighty Nation consisted

Of the selling of poisonous chemicals.

Frankly, that sounds pretty twisted.

 

Imagine the horrible suffering

From a war that went on and on--

Ending eight long years after

Battle lines had been drawn.

 

The Distant Once-Glorious Nation

And the Mighty Nation maintained

Their strained, aggressive relationship

From which nothing was gained.

 

Both accused the other

Of harboring evil intentions;

Both stubbornly resisted

Workable interventions.

 

The people were the ones who suffered

From dis- and misinformation.

The ones caught in the middle

Always experience privation.

 

Could this story end

Not with tears but with laughter?

Could the two ever live

Happily ever after?

 

(9-19-15)