Page 97 - North Star Magazine 2022

The Fall of Rome
I’ve spent lifetimes alongside you
We’ve watched the earth rot and consume itself
Over and over
My eyes never abandoning yours
We’ve seen the sun explode in a fiery conflagration
But it was you who was more fascinating in my opinion
We’ve spectated wars that fed the ground crimson pulp
All while we sat delicately tucked away on a porch somewhere in southern Virginia Do you remember the day Caesar fell?
What world war was more gruesome?
Did we hallucinate every moment of ancient politics?
Perhaps the automatic spill of the world was too much for you to handle With the flicker gone and all the candles snuffed
My eyes finally left yours
Now i’ve finally seen an entire universe combust
-Rowan Arquette