Jerusalem

dead

close to that edge

too many times

staring back from that blackness

Allah's eye

deep in the well

of souls

stood Mohamed
footprint of stone

Abraham's

bloody slate

wiped clean by the

forked tongue of temptation

Christ fell

this path

this stone

rises

just gotta'

swing

we all have a cross to bear

i've been told

in the holy land

on the mount

in the temples

tombs

over-

-under

inside and down-

down-down

drinkin' Turkish coffee with sidewalk madmen

playing redheaded vixen

Argentina oola la

techno- trance

in the dungeon

play things

Chihuly glass in David’s tower

crazy color light sticks

to walk the streets

on the Sabbath

chased by Jews

raving

wild eye bearded black hats

chanting

threw stones with Palestinians

screaming rubber bullets

till the horses fell dead in the street

starvation

singing mothswarm market

waiting for bombs

while eating fruit

in sandals

under bake your brain heat

looking for water

babbling

ranting

i follow the procession into the wall

celebration in stone

as old as civilization itself

i kiss the holy cloth

so soiled with human spit i nearly gag

laughing madly

with the children who follow my money trail

tugging at my feet

everything's for sale

i got souls

holes

everything grows old

this night in Zion

listen to coochie jazz

tapping stick

pushpull

piece o'me

smokin' hash

sippin' coffee

cooking till dawn

left smiling

feet down

stone

drum street

to soak

the soiled bones

floating

deep water

wasted on my skin

in the dessert

of my mind

Robert Hnasko