Lamassu
Before the gates of Ninevah
Protectors guard the gate
Two fearsome beasts of stone
winged bulls with human heads
Lamassu, pride of the Assyrian Empire
Testament to the glory of civilization
Assyria lies in dust and ruin
yet Lamassu remain
They could not save their city
Now resigned to stand among relics
Still, they remain, dust covered
reminders of our common fate
Smash! Sledgehammer bashes stone
Soldiers advance on unmoving targets
Bravely facing stone carving in heated battle
Cameras ready to bring news of dark deeds
And the world recoils in horror, watching
Another statue crumble, crushed
By order of the mad prophet
All contrary meanings and measures
Whether man or works of hands
Smashed, burned, erased from the world
To demonstrate the resolve for war
Until only cycles of blood remain
Lamassu, unable to avert its gaze
Cold eyes watch the destruction
of men long dead, now dying again
The guardian will not leave its post
Even as the hammers turn upon
the ancient winged protector
For the first time since it birth
Lamassu may look up
Towards the sky, upon the world
It sees itself, head lost to body
Forced to watch invaders
Destroy its home once more
Art and beauty are silenced
Art and beauty are silenced
beneath death's siren song
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