11-28-2021, 10:57 PM
The Flavian Amphitheater
a toy set that bleeds,
with its colossal statue of the sun
to greet the spectators who crowd the seats to see
crucified criminals devoured by wild beasts,
Amazons fighting lions, beast-fighters
tossed by Ethiopian bulls,
elephants warring with rhinoceroses,
a convict Icarus set on fire and flung high
into the sky of the arena,
to crash into an artificial sea,
a blackmailer dressed as Orpheus
playing a lyre among the beasts
until torn apart by a ravenous bear,
a living Pasiphae in congress
with a Cretan bull.
During breaks the audience,
refreshed by a spray of perfumed water,
await the next round of cruelty and bravery
myths brought life with the bodies
of the condemned, children of Empire,
whose hearts and minds
bend to an Emperor’s entertainments.
a toy set that bleeds,
with its colossal statue of the sun
to greet the spectators who crowd the seats to see
crucified criminals devoured by wild beasts,
Amazons fighting lions, beast-fighters
tossed by Ethiopian bulls,
elephants warring with rhinoceroses,
a convict Icarus set on fire and flung high
into the sky of the arena,
to crash into an artificial sea,
a blackmailer dressed as Orpheus
playing a lyre among the beasts
until torn apart by a ravenous bear,
a living Pasiphae in congress
with a Cretan bull.
During breaks the audience,
refreshed by a spray of perfumed water,
await the next round of cruelty and bravery
myths brought life with the bodies
of the condemned, children of Empire,
whose hearts and minds
bend to an Emperor’s entertainments.