Great Beast in the East
Great Beast in the East
- With translated lyrics in italics from ‘Yerushalayim shel Zahav’ by Naomi Shemer
There is a Great Beast in the East,
her name is Jerusalem.
Men crawl, weary, broken, towards
her siren song, her golden promise
of prosperity.
A gleaming dome: a wall that wails,
remnants of glittering glory echo
in the saline breeze making pilgrimage
from the glittering Mediterranean sea.
Palm fronds waft music and prayer
across weary white stone and the
taste of holiness hangs heavy
upon the late July sunset.
Nearby, the markets sing:
Shalom, Salaam, Shalom, Salaam.
Tarragon and cumin hang adrift in the air.
Jerusalem of Gold,
Of Copper and of Light.
A Beast no man can tame.
In the poet’s own words:
“Great Beast in the East” was inspired by the beautiful amalgamation of culture that exists in Jerusalem — and by extension, in all of Israel. Jerusalem is holy to so many, and I wanted to capture that idea. Rather than “belonging” to anyone, the city is instead a vessel for uniqueness and unity: peace can be present as either “shalom” or “salaam” in the Golden City, and thus in the rest of the world.
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