Damascus Poem by John Parsons

Ancient opulence
Is what I find here:

Beijing silk
tied to Bengali sandalwood

It wraps like its mother
the worm once did. It sheathed

itself in a cocoon just to boil
in lacerating water induced by the Taiwanese heat.

the little invertabrate
Is mushy like Nazerenth mud. It makes excellent glue.

Ah, well
Enough about the slimy thing.
Let me explore this market

with Babylonian trappings.
Pottery with Chaldean clay.
A Persepolis rug.

What more could I want?
It's 50 B.C.
And the world is all about me, me, me.

(5 July 2008)
(Justin, Texas)