There is an ancient city in which Nabataeans dwelt That is more carved than could be thought of as built This city of beauty and wonder is a World Heritage site It belongs to all of humanity by our noble birthright
Carved as it is on a grand sense of scale Sculptured into cliffside in the finest detail I'm not really one bent toward scholastic lecture But seldom does one find such architecture
Man created a beautiful flowing oasis there With interconnecting aqueducts until the water disappeared In an arid desert city transformed in ways astounding To this day, the engineering is quite confounding
Luxury and exuberance made Nabataean life wonderful As over 20,000 nomads settled finding life beautiful Living life as through their vastly flung network of trade There in a city of the sun where only man made the shade
Within a narrow canyon, the city was intricately built Between trade routes and wadis, this city was dwelt Protected by a narrow gorge for the people's safety The perfection of this choice is a thing of great beauty
(c) November 21, 2020 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
“The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government.” – Thomas Jefferson (1809)
“It is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor.” George Washington (1789)
They say our wounds let in the light I don't know if it's by experience or second light But something about this notion is wound tight And from what I have seen, perhaps they're right
The worst wound is taken in a moral injury The type of forced wrong against immortality That sears the soul in our fated mortality And leaves many as dead as any other fatality
When the smoke clears at their war's end There is sometimes little left of ourselves to defend Having seen what we have, there's no going back again To our better selves before our self-confessed sin
No longer are we as innocent as we once stood Back when we believed we were born innately good We would give almost anything to return if we could But that we cannot is clearly and deeply understood
Life's river is never entered again quite the same Once we have left that awkwardly innocent lane They say we are not the ones to bear the shame But guilt is guilt under any other comforting name
(c) November 19, 2020 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
“Facts are stubborn things; and whatever may be our wishes, our inclination, or the dictates of our passions, they cannot alter the state of facts and evidence.” – John Adams (1770)
“Republics are created by the virtue, public spirit, and intelligence of the citizens. They fall, when the wise are banished from the public councils, because they dare to be honest, and the profligate are rewarded, because they flatter the people, in order to betray them.” – Justice Joseph Story (1833)
Australian Traveller that loves to "Roam" our globe, creator of ENDLESSROAMING.COM sharing the experience through word and photography. Currently residing in my home of Newtown Sydney
