Nine Miles From Mosul Poem by Mason Maestro

Five hundred miles of barren desert overcome by woe
A lonely desolation of dusty roads, pomp and show
Seek a thousand targets, clenching a perturbed view
Sustain no humility, eastern culture becomes construed
Nine miles to Baghdad, give or take one or two
Downstream the Euphrates, swaths of men
Break from Ar Raqqah
From Aleppo, from Hamah

Five hundred miles of barren desert overcome by woe
A lonely desolation of dusty roads, pomp and show
Seek a thousand targets, a deeply troubled view
Sustain the indignation, displaced Syrians misconstrue
Nine miles from Mosul, give or take one or two
Up the Tigris River, swaths of men
The follow-up of an early request
Advancing masses, fill to spill