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.
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