Prometheus

by Khaled Nusseibeh

A sinister impulse is deeply rooted
In the deeper regions of the human past

A myth that pits Man against heaven
Praising human challenge to God

An unsettled relationship between humans
And the pantheon of Zeus and the gods

As if there actually are a multiplicity of deities
Or a man capable of overcoming God!

The fire of knowledge cannot be usurped
For God gives to Man what He wills

Irrespective of human connivance
Or temerity in combating God

The One Lord who wishes for us
To expand the frontiers of knowledge

And to do so in harmony with heaven
And to praise and adore Him

The myth of Prometheus is a fallen fable
Instilling the sinister, the pernicious, the evil

Praise is due not to an outcast human
But to those who lit the way

For acquiring wisdom and truth
And worshipping the transcendent, Perfect God

Fostering peace with heaven
And tranquility on earth