Dear Secretary Kerry... Sincere Sympathies on Your Dream Job

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry...  Poor bastard.

Secretary Kerry has his work cut out for him;

Situation in the Middle East is pretty grim.

Civil war in Syria; the circumstances dire.

Innocent civilians getting caught in the crossfire.

Plus 2 million refugees have packed their things and fled.

Assad's neighbors have to try and keep those people fed.

War's been dragging on for 2 years now; no end in sight.

The United States stayed on the sidelines of the fight.

Now - so rumor has it - CIA is helping out;

Shipping arms to rebels so the battle's not a rout.

Trying hard to pick and choose who's gonna get the guns

In a region that's known warfare since Attila's Huns.

Egypt's on the brink of a collapse...  They're out of cash.

Thus, their fragile government may hit a wall and smash.

Even with intentions that are pure as driven snow,

Morsi's in a bind if the economy won't grow.

And, of course, there's Israel and Palestine, as well.

You call that the Holy Land?  It's more akin to Hell.

It's no wonder Hillary decided that she'd quit;

Let poor Secretary Kerry try to deal with it.

Across the Pond - Israel: A Conversation With My Son

Graphic credit/homran.wordpress.com

Yesterday my youngest son and I were in the car

And (as is per usual) were tuned to NPR.

With the news about Hamas and Gaza on the air

He asked me if I'd explain the problem over there.

Sure, my love...  No worries - and we'll do string theory next.

Once upon a time there were these three, religious sects...

And, depending how far back in history you go,

They all have a claim to land.  Who's right? I do not know.

And, it's hard to say exactly who owned what stuff last.

Many folks want vengeance there, for wrongs done in the past. 

Israel believes they face an existential threat...

That, my son, means it's as big as these things ever get.

Problem is that threat applies, as well, to Palestine.

Both sides shooting missiles; each has crossed the other's line.

Israel's surrounded by a troubled neighborhood.

I'm afraid there may be war and that, my love's, not good.

They must find a path to peace - there has to be a fix.

Find it fast before Egypt and Jordan join the mix.

Don't ask me what they should do.  I haven't got a clue.

Should have gone with quantum physics darlin'.  I warned you.