Barry recently returned from Baghdad after a year where he worked as a Development Practitioner on an Iraq-wide local governance project.
Pitched unprepared yet willingly in the fray,
Betwixt this world and the next I could not betray,
Mixed fears and emotions though I did pray,
Enlightenment and courage to help me on my way,
Senses awry, puny resolve not knowing what to expect,
Shia, Sunni, Kurd – Iraq’s best did I soon come to admire and respect,
For hardship and sacrifice that has become their eternal quest,
Often a beginning and end wrapped in a deadly vest,
Privilege and pleasure has been our reward,
What kind of new world order are they moving toward?
Trumped up WMD traded for MDGs so universally sought,
Without political resolve and selfless stewardship this will all amount to nought.
Spring – 2011
Consolidate gains and soothe away emerging rage and endless pain,
Rejuvenating rains, thoughts and deeds hopefully clear and sane.
Summer – 2011
Decisively determine US troop drawdown or not and launch a committed country-wide program of development and reconstruction,
An Arab League refraining from further fracturing and procrastination.
Autumn 2012
Government gets on track maintaining momentum and purpose,
The preserve of the people –serving all citizens of Iraq we propose.
Winter 2012
Ensuring that with the purest of intentions,
This does not become another Winter of discontent.
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