Switched-on Gutenberg Issue 16
Assemblage
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We are crossing over an ancient stream
Pompeii lies behind
Caesar lies ahead
Christ lays waiting in Hades
Mt. Vesuvius is asleep
We move into position
Lions nip at our ankles
Women and children wail on the other side of the ancient shore
We dip into the shallows
We surface reborn
Modern history awaits us
It observes our actions
Pen in hand, it prepares to write our fate
Scribes fight for supremacy in front of the crystal ball
Hercules is laughing
Zeus is crying
Achilles runs for cover
Mt. Olympus trembles
The crystal ball rolls violently down the mountain
It lands at our feet as we emerge from the ancient stream
A soccer match erupts
The Romans join in
There is much flailing about as shins are kicked, feet are stepped on
An arbitrator dressed in black and white calls, foul!
Romans and Nepalese stop dead in their sandals
Everyone looks up
Zeus is angry
Achilles runs down the mountain
Hercules is still laughing
Jesus, Achilles says
Achilles, we say, and return the ball
The transparent globe is returned over the ancient stream and up the sacred mountain
Everyone returns to work
History picks up her feathered pen
Everyone waits for Fate to catch up


Copyright 2010,  David Woodward

A wildlife biologist by trade, David Woodward now spends his days writing and teaching. He has published poetry, short stories, a novel excerpt, and flash fiction. He lives in Longueuil, Quebec.



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