Afternoons at Gipodrom

heirarchies of the past
seem like they will never last
but they stand for eons beyond
the ruins of their civilizations
from Gobeklitepe to the Colosseum
artifacts end in museums
yet caste systems and wage slavery
ever-present problems these seem to be



Romulan we all called him
this troll silent glum and grim
watch him irate gesticulate
when you steal his hat for a weekly bet
as the bum swung between despair and hate
the Northwest weather got very wet
childish pranks were his lot
the helpless and forgotten sot



outskirts cabin pendent dusty cobweb veils
reeling gentle fro and thither in convection
aluminum echoes bellows of frumious wails
late passed early now a new suspension
no niter and no bezoar will remove what ails
the alchemist's sum; a life trapped in reflection