Opening Verse

Jacob’s Dream, c.1640 (drawing)
The Louvre, Paris

Genesis  18:11

Great heaps of stones upon mount Gilead
Spiraling, ladder-like, while measured souls
Slow journey through Homeric “Illiad”
Beyond God’s wrathful seven golden bowls.

Late come but preordained, our Cornerstone
Commissioned John to write APOCALYPSE
Forewarning all who dwell near Satan’s throne
To choose between white stones and Baal’s crypts. 

Most precious stones, without identity,
The Holy Word implores us to review
Each referenced  passage to Infinity
That step-by-step on stone-by-stone lead to  .   .   .

The Curator’s Notes: This serves as both introduction and roadmap for the collection, establishing the central metaphor: the Ten Commandments as “coping stones”—the top layer of stones on a wall or building that completes and protects the structure. The poet saw the Ten Commandments as the capstone of divine law, the completion and protection of God’s covenant with humanity. The final line, ending with an ellipsis suggests the journey continues beyond the poem into the collection itself.