Belshazzar's Folly

You were disadvantaged in prosperity unearned. The walls of Babylon you did not make. With no adversary to challenge you, The wings of your father you clung to. And his empire you did take. Like a hare unaware of the fox, You sat in your fortress undeterred. On the Euphrates river blue, You considered the Persian threat untrue. And the gala’s red carpet was unfurled. If there was only heavenly instruction revealed. If only a song by cherubim sung. For no shaman with his alchemy, Nor soothsayer in his necromancy, Could foreshadow the fate in which you hung. The Persian you considered not, For the walls of Babylon were high. The refrain was heard from afar, of the party on the plains of Shinar. And the conqueror drew nigh. His heart filled with consternation, as the hare saw the fox. The moat was brought low, with the shofar blow. Now the fox keeps the hare’s head in a box.