It’s true my verse is short of imagery,
And too diluted by metaphysical thought
Through which I try to fight idolatry
Wherein mankind today is clearly caught:
And no more so than in Jerusalem –
This artful city of myths “upon a hill” –
That naturally most seduces them
On whom she can inflict the greatest ill.
Thus, save those images I do employ,
Such as vengeful whore and paralytic birds,
Since the Soul’s the thing she’s likely to destroy
I find myself immersed in abstract words.
This said, I should accept there’s no better place
For a poet aware man’s “future” lies in space.
Jerusalem
16 September 1995