two sons of abraham
two israelite kingdoms
north and south
one destroyed
and then the other
two temples
both destroyed
two jewish revolts
two intifadahs
two roman empires
west and east
one destroyed
and then the other
two churches in schism
two islams in contest
none destroyed
two prophets rejected
two religions born to contend
two satans
great and little
two world wars
two genocides
two persian gulf wars
two towers
north and south
east and west
one destroyed
and then the other
two peoples from abraham
two states in Palestine
********************
(I wrote the above April 22, 2002)
Wilfred Owen’s poem, quoted at the end of the movie “Regeneration,” also known as “Behind the Lines,” haunts me. https://poets.org/poem/parable-old-man-and-young
Your thought-provoking poem reminded me of it.
Thank you for that poem, I’ve read it a few times. Abraham killing Isaac is an idea I’d heard of, but what is really shocking is how the poem takes you, almost imperceptibly at first, to the First World War. Horrifying and haunting. Gives me something new to think about, both with Genesis and war.
https://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/06/03/behind-the-lines-a-k-a-regeneration-1997/