FOOLS RUSH WHERE.........: award winner

FOOLS RUSH WHERE......:


Fools rush where angels fear to tread.
The wise are circumspect.
The former are too sure that their
Success is not suspect.

When US invaded Iraq,
Falsely, in terror’s name,
It forgot international law
And brought itself to shame.

It thought a red carpet welcome
Waited all those marines.
They waded up the hot desert.
Some were just in their teens.

They found that it was no cake-walk.
Foolishly they had rushed.
They learnt that free will of people
Could not be lightly crushed.

Alas, in the Iraq quagmire,
US is now entombed.
It can’t proceed, it can’t pull back.
Marines, in sands, are doomed.

What a pity that the US
Has just no strategy
To get out of the mess for which
It has no remedy.



* Written in abcb, 8-6-8-6 format.

* Initially written as entry 475056 in the book WAR POETRY, {item: 950703}. Posted as the present item on 3 May 2007.
“ Awarded second place in the "News Desk: Contest", "Invalid Item" , First Round. This contest required that the poem be built upon a news item in a newspaper. The above poem was inspired by the news item in Times of India, dated 14 December 2006, which reads:

“WHITE HOUSE TO DELAY STRATEGY--The White House on Tuesday said President Bush would delay presenting any new strategy for Iraq until early next year, as officials suggested that Bush’s advisers were locked in internal debates on several fronts about how to proceed. The absence of a new plan for Iraq is adding to the anxiety among Iraq’s moderate neighbours”.


M C Gupta
14 December 2006