| Joseph Friedlander, comp. The Standard Book of Jewish Verse. 1917. | | | | A Call to the Builders | | By Helen Gray Cone |
| | I YE may not rear it now,—though some aver | |
| The eye of man shall see it where it stood,— | |
| The glittering House of God, with cedar-wood | |
| Well builded, and with olive and with fir, | |
| Cunningly carved with wide-winged cherubim, | 5 |
| And flowers full-blown, and palm-trees fair and slim. | |
| The ancient, unforgetting Eastern sky— | |
| Blue as the sapphire in the breast-plate set, | |
| That, watching waits, may not behold it yet; | |
| Though there be breasts where longing will not die; | 10 |
| Though still Jerusalem’s holy earth be shed, | |
| Dear symbol, o’er the unalienated dead! | |
| |
II Yet unto you, O sons of Israel! | |
| This year, this day, this hour, and in this land, | |
| ’Tis given to lend with joy the helping hand. | 15 |
| To rear a mighty Temple builded well, | |
| Its blocks young souls, unhewn yet by the keen | |
| Steel of the desecrating world, and clean. | |
| Bring, bring, bright gold, and melt it in the fire. | |
| So shall that faithful offering overspread | 20 |
| A spiritual altar, be ye sure; | |
| So to the strength of Israel shall aspire | |
| From lamps of many branches flamelets pure, | |
| The light of lives with oil of knowledge fed! | | | | |
|
|
