PostPoems Be Artistic. Be Creative. Be Inspired!

The business of any empire is profit and loss, and the

effect of operating costs upon and between them.  With

careful attendance upon these forces and values, an

ordinary fishing village---huddled between seven hills and the

Tiber became the dominant power in the world called Rome.

Some of my most intricate carvings have been appropriated to

decorate Greek and Roman manors in the Decapolis.

I designed and assembled the High Priest's writing desk at which
(they tell me) he studies of the testament of his God, and

arrives at the most momentous decisions.

My work is displayed in the Great Library of Alexandria.

But I have since fallen out of favor:

was that because of ill-chosen words muttered

after too much wine; or some married woman's disclosure

after I had admired---with delicate fingertips tracing---

her ample, and nakedly offered, curves?

Now I supervise the stock, and restocking, of crosspieces; a

task requiring little skill (they need not even be well

balanced) and only a rudimentary ability to count.  The

uprights are less likely to need replacement, remaining

firmly fixed in the ground of convenient killing places:

purchased with the taxes Rome assesses,

occupied by the victims Rome crucifies.

Starward