Babel
Let me tell you
the story of an old tower,
and old, old tale, of a mighty tower,
that broke the heavens and
the continuity of the skies.
The tower extended
in pustules, lilting
vulnerably to one side
here, a hundred
meters higher
it jutted to another angle, so perilous
the tower should have
snapped
at that junction, but it did
not. it ran high past
the clouds, the swooping
bird kings of the sky. It was jeweled
a polish of light, a blending band
of tinctures and casts brillante, the nubs
of grinning demons were flush
emeralds, the seraphs twisted
around these gargoyles, spitting out dunnish
miracles. This
was the tower that climbed above
heaven’s gate
and beyond, soared past the first level of heavenly
choirs, past the bleached
garments of the
saints, higher than the towers of
the
most high. From his
window, it was
said, that God
peered up with typical halcyonic mirth, upon
our tower, but we knew
better. He
was mortified
at heart that he had not thought
to build the tower that
eclipsed the sun, and stood
equal, in
its exact middle height to the moon. And so
it was,
whispered, quite loudly, that
He knowing that a second of its kind,
though grander in stature, would
never merit the great
fame of the first,
sat
and sighed, and
would not help with the construction
of the tower. Many
churchmen
had knocked upon the doors
of his domicile, when the tower had reached
that height,
to allow Him to bestow his
approbation. With
flaming axe and burning
white rapier, the guardians had
denied the men of cloth
entrance.
Yet it was built
Still, and the best of men
came to
the tower of Babel, the highest
the mightiest and
the proudest.
Here is the story of most
stories,
of Babel and of Babel not, of man
and mankind, of love and
of love.
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He had promised her a home
in paradise.
The second promise of young lovers.
The first--eternal devotion.
And had sought he -- a place
among the
tower. Though there were
many,
many more sought a place
among the sky and the higher
home of God.
She had eagerly sewn her
dresses, light as
free as the soft rare gases
that would float past their boudoir.
Her home! With her
love!
Beautiful--and sanctified by
God.
But there was a third, a
third unseen
by the two very young lovers.
Seen by Allah, sadly,
because the tower was not made
for the three
together.
This third had an eye.
For our young bride.
And had curried the young man’s favors
to be close
to her.
The young ones did not know
They were so lost
in each other.
The way young ones are.
The third began to scheme
and think of when
the young bride--would be
his.
And this all, our
God did see, and
sigh he did.
At the evil in
the tower of Babel.
But what could
God do.
There would always be.
Evil.
There would always be
a third one
left out.
And so the third,
said to the young husband.:
Come, see. My place--in the
tower.
It is the
grandest
of them
yet.
My chamber is equal to
God’s
highest tower
Nay -- it is
above.
It is the pinnacle of the
dome that
we call sky
Come see, for there can be none
above--
only below.
Come see-- where my window
overlooks
God’s own backyard.
Climb the
steps--twill take a year.
to reach
the high place
they call Babel.
You will
pass the lands of
the
Africans, you will step
over
generations of Indies.
You
will see the ancient Chinese, and scoff
At the
fledgling Europeans, then
you will
see me, Erlucif,
at the
top.
They are my
people, my beloved.
(And I
will not let my people go!)
And they
worship me, above
all. For I maintain
the highest place
in
Babel.
So the boy did come.
He set out, with his bride.
For she too was curious and
Erlucif had spoken of
the great treasures
that so ignite
a young girl’s heart.
And they did climb,
for one half and a
year.
ever higher, past the
wondrous wonders of the
world that had been
transported to
this place --
the greatest wonder
of them all.
And then they came.
To the tower of Babel.
And knocked they softly
upon its door.
And slowly, slowly,
did it open, smoothly gentle,
bidding gentle,
--in, in, to the tower
that is Babel.
A Strange light struck them
or rather, the absence of it.
So strange-- for,
they were at level with the sun.
Yet there seemed
not quite
enough light.
To see everything.
It took a while to
discern Erlucif from
the shadows of the apartment.
It was high, the ceiling
could barely be seen.
Was it a ceiling?
Or a cover of flames --that came
from the neighboring sun?
Come -- come in.
I bid, you welcome.
to my tower
That is Babel.
In they came.
With a sense of something.
Not yet dread.
Too curious were they. At
the
Wonders the tower of Babel
held.
They began looking to the
left.
A unicorn. Its horn
like
a one-pointed star. A
bit of the luminousness
that glints from the eyes of
God.
It stood there.
From whence do you come?
Asked the bride. She had
since girlhood wished for
had come.
I come from, before the
flood.
They would not take us,
because we were childless.
And my mate has died.
And has gone down with the
other barren creatures.
Down?
Down--to heaven?
Asked the bride.
Unicorn: Surely so, young bride, for
where
is there to go but down from
this
place on high
--that -- is Babel.
Oh-h . . she said.
And they went on to the
next.
A serpent, with scales, as rare, as
ice on the sun.
Your beauty, surpasses that of any
that I have seen.
Stroked the bride.
on the snake’s spine.
Bride: Pray tell, what you do here--
in
this tower of Babel?
I think. it sissed
of
ways. To bring men
down. To their folly.
But that is
easy, for there
is only
one way --to go,
from
this tower of Babel.
It coiled skatingly round
the bride’s arm and squeezed
her like
a lover.
Quick flash, the bride
looked round for their host
and seeing none, jumped
up.
Husband she cried,
where do you be?
She could not see
though she ran
from side
to side
scouring its dark spaces. Of the tower of babel.
Her husband was not.
Her host was not
to be seen in the tower.
With nameless terror, she
looked out
the window and from it saw,
a gentle young man, with robes.
As stained as all
the sins of the world.
Looking at her --
like father,
like child, and lover,
in three.
And she asked the man
across the way.
For surely, his tower
was almost as magnificent ,
magnificent -- but not
as grand.
Grandiloquent
in the humblest way.
Who be this man -- with
the look of
sorrow,
so laden. Was he
in envy -- of the tower
of Babel
And followed this one’s eyes,
the child-bride did.
Followed them down.
Down, down,
To a figure , dropping,
dropping far below.
So high were they , it
looked, as if it were flying.
Her host? But
she felt the gentle
squeeze of the beautifully scaled
serpent on her wrist,
snug against her elbow.
Undulating across
her elbow.
But where was . . .?
Where was?
Her husband!
She: No! sobbing out the window
and she would, have
thrown
herself out. after him.
Had not the serpent twined
itself round her tight and
kept her from
following her husband.
It was so tight, she fainted.
And woke with the glitter eyes of
the snake upon her.
flicking and licking its
tongue across her face
and down her bosom.
She felt his tail coming between
her and cried like
she had never known before.
Came the unicorn from the
corner.
Rearing itself to challenge
the serpent.
For what had it to lose?
The serpent, left the maiden
and stood high up,
proud,
undaunted.
But she
enjoys, it hissed
You had your chance before
the
husband. Mine,
comes after.
and if he were vainer would
have spread his scales.
Like a banner.
They fought. And fought.
And shook. The whole
of the tower of Babel.
Those in
the middle cried!:
We are doomed, we are up so high.
There is no place to go, but
down.
Those at the bottom cried:
We are doomed -- the weight
of Babel
will come crushing
down on us.
Those at, the top , looked out
their windows , to God ,
for mercy.
As the battle raged the
unicorn, lost its horn.
It was bleeding a river
from its forehead, blinding
it from sight of .
the serpent.
Serpent had
lost its fangs.
He bled an ocean from his
mouth . His scales seemed
to shrivel at
the loss.
And on did they war ,
with hoof and poison
tail, the serpent had
choked itself round, the unicorn.
She could not breathe
and she sank, her fine legs
to the ground.
And our bride
Screamed for mercy .
for anything.
She leapt to the two figures
fighting over something
that
had already been lost,
and, with the strength of myth
and abandoned faith,
yanked the evil-scaled horror
from the neck
of the unicorn
and left a mark of red.
Where no harness could ever touch
and flung herself and serpent.
out the window from the tower.
that was highest of
Holy Babel.
No! Shrieked
the serpent as
loudly as the sky!
No! shrieked the
girl,
as she saw the dim
figure of her husband
below her
far
below her.
And as the two passed
the window of our Lord.
The one asked: oh my Lord.
Save
me and the
other
asked, oh, my lord,
help me
back down to the ground -- where I belong!
And the two kept falling
silently, sometimes
flying
The one, working to fall
faster the more so, to
catch her beloved.
The other falling to be,
a thorn, in their side.
Babel faltered that day.
And yet the lord
let it stand. He could not
withstand, his children’s desires.
And let them, do as they
wished.
But every now and then, as
one does fall, he puts
on them,
the distinguishing
feature of man, from beast,
a skull so hard it will not break,
when it touches ground.
So hard it will not listen
-- to their father.
And a voice so loud, it will
not hear, its neighbor’s cry.
And though the children of
Babel speak the language still.
They neither understand, nor care.
because what the
other says.
is useless to his neighbors.
The neighbors that
self-selected
Themselves to be.
The highest of them all,
will never hear those
believed to be.
Below them.
Enter now, the languages,
all saying the same
thing but not a
word understood, by
even
the person saying it.
(How like the sound.
Of a beast braying.
Almost.)
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Dragon, the
Damsel, and Dreams
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