Dr. Riad Nourallah -
“A Tribute in Verse”
In celebration of the Diplomatic Academy of London’s
14th International Symposium - The Impact of Technology on Intelligence and Security
We need more tools, not less IT
Even the cute celebrity,
The phone to snog, the trendy blog,
But not to kick the underdog,
We need more tools to build a dome,
For all the children with no home,
And schools, and presses for more books,
To tell the truth about high crooks,
For continents to build a bridge,
And for Ozone—a safer fridge ;
But those with wealth and brutal power,
Must not hijack my every flower,
And patent buds in every forest,
Branding themselves the only florist.
My beauty grows; like Truth, it’sVAST,
And joy is born with all the cast,
I see my joy in cyber chats,
But most with global diplomats,
The ones who serve the larger need,
And not their masters’ howls of greed,
And do their work, humane and bold,
To sweep away every blindfold,
Honing the arts of winning hearts
And not the s-kills of Ninja darts—
Diplomacy that hugs the sun,
The Soft the Hard cannot outrun,
The Soft that really runs the world
Or its conscience, when not so blurred,
When bright image and good repute
Reflect the true state of the fruit,
For what merit lies in the glitz
If worms beneath prepare their blitz?
Lincoln the Great said “one may fool
The crowd a season, and may rule ;
But then the Truth comes out to shine
And write the book—Human, Divine!”
And then Love mocks imperial pomp
That chose to strike roots in a -- swamp,
And sent its legions to grab land,
And pitch its war-tents on quicksand ;
For Peace must bloom within the Soul,
One Peace, not p-i-e-c-e-s, One fair Whole,
Embracing needs of West and East,
Those of the spirit—and the beast!
With due respect for gentle Life,
Who dreads but scorns the sneering knife!—
My diplomats, who sing my song,
Have known that green Truth all along:
Do not invade, but persuade,
For Love endures while rusts the blade;
The Hard may strut and fret a while,
But it’s the Soft who’ll stay and smile—
As you have stayed in this good hall,
For which I bless you one and all.”
