8/3

Stand on the mall in D.C. sometime
& mentally transpose on it
a full color transparency
of the Forum Romanum
as it is today.

Spooky, eh?

gleaming marble/
crumbling brick

strutting patrician politicos/
feral cats & skittering lizards

Shit happens.
Ask Ozymandias.

If...
...military power is projected beyond borders
& then beyond economic resources,

...& resources are exploited beyond sustainability,

...& industrial capacity is sold off to exploit
cheaper (slave) labor--
squandering the buying power of
a shrinking middle class,

...& infrastructure crumbles under the assault of
moronic neglect and irrational parsimony,

...& democracy is subverted by a barrage of
mind warping entertainments
subsidized indifference & cynicism,

as the wealth of a nation
concentrates into
fewer & fewer hands,

then watch
all eyes attach their attention
to glowing electric screens--
bear witness
as Faux News announces
which New Caesar
just crossed
the digital Rubicon.