Wondrous Build
by Gary Beck

 

 

Year after year they dragged the stones

for a memorial

to the dead.

And it was a mighty work,

the greatest engineering marvel

of the ancient world

conveniently located

in the desert,

so when a stone fell

it only killed a slave,

the machinery of the times.

And it still stands

thousands of years later,

though no longer sanctified

as a place for the dead.

 

A new building goes up

in midtown Manhattan

on Madison Avenue

and 42nd Street,

a dense part of the city.

And as it soars

day after day

in the city of skyscrapers,

the wonderful construction

does not interfere

with the busy life around it.

Tourists stop nearby,

photo Grand Central Terminal,

a noble edifice,

and never notice

the incredible rise

of a shimmering spire

proclaiming modernity,

not dropping a stone

that would not fall in the desert,

but land on pedestrians,

killing and injuring many,

instead a testament

to modern achievement.

 

Rate this poetry.

Copyright is reserved by the author. Please do not reproduce any part of this article without consent.