The Jolly Joker of Jerusalem
First things first when
the holy books burst
and lime pits are planned
in this thirsty, troubled
land of passion
and beauty and flavour,
and the mind is mined
for the Cruising craze
and the neighbours pray
and bray and fast
for the festival roast…
as, cool as a fool,
I scribble this treble
rhyme while I’m able.
My first duty
to myself and my host
at this generous table
is to test and taste
and toast and savour
and rejoice in my time,
in the feast of this day
I might have missed,
even if I was born to burn
at the end of this line…
like a star, like the joker,
in history's final feeble fable.
*Thomas Ország-Land is a poet and award-winning foreign correspondent. His poetry has been published here and in The New York Times, his reviews and polemics here and The Times Literary Supplement.
