The Romans
Fought, Conquered, Built
Engineered, Strove
A blend of enlightenment
and ruthlessness
they read papyrus books
Codices
furnished lavish Libraries
emulating the Egyptians
*
crisscrossing Europe with roads, aqueducts
and Arenas
they Ruled and Conquered
until they no longer did
*
the lengthy decline
immeasurable in real time
a steady collapse
such a cake
insufficiently leavened
cautiously sits instead of standing
from one generation to another
incrementally slipping
catching itself
then slipping a bit more
*
the Undoing of Civilization
culture, knowledge –
Worms yes, Invasions, Fire indeed
Time, certainly,
but more than that, Ignorance
engendering more Ignorance
until no one reads
except a handful in charge
No more principles of Life
only principles of Fear –
*
From illiteracy and terror
a darkness hovered for millennia:
the earth once round
was now flat, the sun
as center spurned
human Parthenogenesis
a fact
the importance of clean water, forgotten
questioning forbidden,
any attempt at dissolving dimness,
viciously repressed
*
Until ever so slowly,
we Progressed Back
to the Humanities
salvaging ancient manuscripts
repossessing reading, examination, discussion
simultaneously galvanized by
and galvanizing the Printing Press
Empowering Minds
at once Philosophical and Mathematical
Exposing a World
of Objective Reality
no more the realms of revelation
rather the laws of physics
no longer the punishing guilt and suffering
of an immaterial god
but cause and effect
of a Beautiful Sentient Universe
made of atoms, void
magnetic fields
*
and nothing else
*
Whew — killer last line!
How poignant of you, dear Kiki! You must be in Langedoc. The area, like an eddy in a current, feels like it makes a space where time remains… Love your vision of the Roman Empire, with the mixture of enlightment and ruthlessness and emulating Egypt (implementing a Greek Ideal) which created two thousand years ago a physical and mental infrastructure that became our western world only to see what we have created with it and what it has come to. However, let’s not forget that good old “When there is light in the Soul…” I’m a die hard optimist and like bringing the East to the equation. Let’s see what comes out of the ashes…
Love you, Kiki!
Right you are! I am in the Languedoc ! Merci Ignacio, toujours merci
What a beautiful sentiment on the ebb and flow of life. A poem that once again puts the responsibility on the individual to continue to face the fear, ignorance and all that makes this human experience something worth experiencing. As we become aware that we are expressions of God in all its wondrous forms, we affirm that the light of all that is can only be held within us. Whether it be Rome, Egypt or Greece- we carry it all inside of us. The knowledge that this is who we are and the process of not judging that knowing is what leads us to flourish every time. I am grateful for your words, for when I read them it is further proof of the you in me and the me in you. As we enter the next period of enlightenment, I am aware of the gift of ignorance. Thank You!!! Love you, Kiki!!!
Danke dir Christina, dass du im meinem leben bist… Jetzt und immer
Karma
Alleluia!!
Right!!??
Kiki, lovely musing on the rise and fall of civilizations. Unsettling how the fourth stanza could speak to our current world. But as you point out so hopefully, science and common sense can form a sound foundation. Bravo!
Yes, sometimes I fear that the written word could just vanish again, as it has in the past, and we’d have to start all over again like sisyphus…