NPM 6/30: A History of the Jews
A History of the Jews
When Sisyphus was forced to roll his rock uphill,
he claimed to throw his back out every morning,
though by nightfall he was well enough to carry water
for his bath. The gods, cleverer, sent hewers to split
the boulder into bricks. They let the noontime convalescent
haul his charges summitwards one at a time,
not letting the sun set until their temple
had been built.
When finally the dusk, felled like a tree
washed every block back down in a freshet of darkness,
Sisyphus would go to bed cursing tomorrow’s work.
Around that time, Prometheus’ liver would begin to bud,
Its balding owner sighing, wheezing with the pleasure
of divine birthright—his organs growing back like stubble,
incorruptible. He’d told the Rabbi all he did
was set one desert bush on fire. The things that man will learn
by monkeying the gods! He props one leg up and applies a compress
to relieve the gout, tidies his chains, and waits the night out
for his eagle. He wonders what language it will speak tomorrow.
He thinks, our days and nights are long atop this holy mount.
