Askelon
by Marc Mangel
If stone could char you would be charred
and chipped rather than only chipped
there you lie torn and battered
by time or waves and life
you pillars
your pillars sleep on the soft beds
your time has gone Askelon
Philistines are the eternal nation
and the waves are the eternal force
together they decimated you and left
your people caricatures of stone to be
gawked at or
classified
Do you long for rebirth Askelon?
for another day of uprigthness
and purity
Do you wish to breath and hum once more
alive
or perhaps remain undisturbed in sleep?
October 1972