Great blue black depths of frozen air Engulfed the soul of Zeus. And then Jehovah reigned instead. For Judah was living and Greece was dead. And Hope was born to nurse Despair, And the Devil was let loose. * * * * * Far off in the waste empyrean The world was a golden mote. And the Sun hung like a red balloon, Or a bomb afire o'er a barracoon. And the sea was drab, and the sea was green Like a many colored coat. The sea was pink like cyclamen, And red as a blushing rose. It shook anon like the sensitive plant, Under the golden light aslant. The little waves patted the shore again Where the restless river flows. And thus it has been for ages gone-- For a hundred thousand years; Ere Buddha lived or Jesus came, Or ever the city had place or name, The sea thrilled through at the kiss of dawn Like a soul of smiles and tears. When the city's seat was a waste of sand, And the hydra lived alone, The sound of the sea was here to be heard, And the moon rose up like a great white bird, Sailing aloft from the yellow strand To her silent midnight throne. Now Helios eyes the universe, And he knows the world is small. Of old he walked through pagan Tyre, Babylon, Sodom destroyed by fire, And sought to unriddle the primal curse That holds the race in thrall. So he stepped from the Sun in robes of flame As the city woke from sleep. He walked the markets, walked the squares, He walked the places of sweets and snares, Where men buy honor and barter shame, And the weak are killed as sheep. He saw the city is one great mart Where life is bought and sold. Men rise to get them meat and bread To barter for drugs or coffin the dead. And dawn is but a plucked-up heart For the dreary game of gold. "Ho! ho!" said Helios, "father Zeus Would never botch it so. If he had stolen Joseph's bride, And let his son be crucified The son's blood had been put to use To ease the people's woe." "He of the pest and the burning bush, Of locusts, lice, and frogs, Who made me stand, veiling my light, While Joshua slaughtered the Amorite, Who blacked the skin of the sons of Cush, And builded the synagogues." "And Jehovah the great is omnipotent, While Zeus was bound by Fate. But Athens fell when Peter took Rome, And Chicago is made His hecatomb. And since from the hour His son was sent The hypocrite holds the state." Helios traversed the city streets And this is what he saw: Some sold their honor, some their skill, The soldier hired himself to kill, The judges bartered the judgment seats And trafficked in the law. The starving artist sold his youth, The writer sold his pen; The lawyer sharpened up his wits Like a burglar filing auger bits, And Jesus' vicar sold the truth To the famished sons of men.