(Dedicated to Gershom Gorenberg)
With David’s conquest sprang a type of fable
(The Mount had been a sacrificial site):
Right here, they said, slew Cain his brother Abel
And Abram thought his son he ought to smite.
Such myths were literalized throughout the ages,
Which saw the Roman armies and Islam’s;
Since Sixty-Seven some Jewish and Christian “sages”
Prepare for Temple and sacrifice of lambs.
In short these zealots wish the mosques destroyed,
An act that would ignite a global war;
If they, like Abraham, Wisdom employed,
They’d comprehend prophetic metaphor.
Then, far from paranoia and will to power,
Empathic peace upon the Mount could flower.
Jerusalem
12 August 2012