For years we’ve seen Jerusalem defaced
By buildings that reflect this greedy age;
Her gentler features thus have been replaced
By blots and eyesores, prompting grief or rage.
And now, alas, an even greater stain
Has been produced by Mammon’s filthy claw:
Where Holy Land Hotel had humbly lain
There stands a tower no soul can well ignore.
As tallest, it the view will dominate –
Until some businessmen a mayor pay
To further seal the city’s sorry fate
By topping both Manhattan and LA.
It’s time we taught our leaders to refuse
The Holy Land with Babel to confuse.
Jerusalem
17 March 2009