Col (Ret.) Nate Slate: The Garden of Eden

As we marched through the ancient dust of Iraq, chasing the mythic promise of Eden, I couldn’t shake the feeling that what we were truly searching for wasn’t a place—but the fragile hope that such a place might still exist.

So much time and effort had been spent focusing upon preparation for the upcoming war that little time remained for reflection on the history of the region. Even as we crossed Kuwait’s northern border, it had not yet hit me where we were. We were in the Biblical Wilderness. Could it be that the names and places mentioned in the Old Testament, taught to so many of us as children, still existed in this foreign land?

I saw an old Iraqi map. The Garden of Eden was on this map – northwest of Baghdad in the desert. The Iraqis believe that life started in this remote place thousands of years ago. How odd it was to see the Garden on a map – not a figurative place from the Bible, but a real place in the sand.

Ancient Babylon

It seemed to me that we were all in search of the Garden – of new life and new hope. The question was, could we realize this vision of prosperity? Or, was the Garden yet a myth, and our dreams of prosperity another desperate mirage?

THE GARDEN OF EDEN

Under the searing sun

sands blow wistfully

across the vast loneliness

We travel with our brothers, sisters, patriots

Two ways to continue to read this article.

on our way to the Garden of Eden The dry parched earth its praetorian guard Dust trails billow making faces in the sky Telling a story of romantic adventure incredible optimism As the sun sinks the distant horizon is on fire a blanket of darkness moves across the desert like an iron wall and slowly extinguishes the flames No longer intimidated by the sun stars begin to show themselves The night breeze under the endless sky washes the desert floor Stopping by an ancient road wind worn ruins remind us of the mythopeic past How things change How things remain the same We travel on in hope of the garden Wondering if hope is all that remains — Editor’s Note: This is the latest in a series of works submitted to SOFREP by Nate Slate. They cover his multi-year journey from a young boy in the mountains of Virginia, to becoming a young soldier, a family man and eventually leading the 17th Field Artillery Brigade into combat operations in Iraq. It’s a colorful, enlightening and moving narrative. We hope you enjoy it. – GDM ** Please visit Nate’s author page to connect with his other contributions: https://sofrep.com/author/nathan-slate/