Inner Temples Comments

Do you know Arnold Schoenberg's opera MOSES UND ARON? . He devotes a long section to the Golden Calf with the most amazing (twelve-tone) music. He doesn't dramatize the earth opening up and swallowing the sinners, but when Moses comes down from the mountain and sees their idolatry, his anger is earth shaking. Your poem, of course, is not limited to the biblical account. You are commenting on the Golden Calves which are ever-present in our lives as we sacrifice integrity for profit, fidelity to pleasure, honesty for advancement, etc. So many Golden Calves! So many bartered souls!