04-03-2026, 03:23 PM
Silver and Gold
They scoured the top of a mountain then hollowed it out
and when it began to collapse, they stuffed it full
of cement they acquired by popping open the top
of other, lesser mountains---ones that were not
endowed by the Lord with silver---while on the other
side of the country, they carved out a massive notch
into a basin's edge, draining its lake
to gather up what gold the natives squandered
by offering to false gods. All this they did
by forcing the heathen to work, at first as slaves
and then as little better, the wretches dying
in droves to the miner's phthisis or to quicksilver
poisoning their minds. Is this why some
revere the cross that cold Columbus brought
as more than a consolation? When Christ said faith
could move a mountain, was this what he meant?
They scoured the top of a mountain then hollowed it out
and when it began to collapse, they stuffed it full
of cement they acquired by popping open the top
of other, lesser mountains---ones that were not
endowed by the Lord with silver---while on the other
side of the country, they carved out a massive notch
into a basin's edge, draining its lake
to gather up what gold the natives squandered
by offering to false gods. All this they did
by forcing the heathen to work, at first as slaves
and then as little better, the wretches dying
in droves to the miner's phthisis or to quicksilver
poisoning their minds. Is this why some
revere the cross that cold Columbus brought
as more than a consolation? When Christ said faith
could move a mountain, was this what he meant?