Riot Vibrantly Painted Poem by Andrus Cassian

Riot Vibrantly Painted



Set the scene
strike the slate
a plague befalls Rome this day
like the Gods bless the clouds to spew rain from its jaws
A hurricane of envy washes the city streets
already filthy with the foul stench of death and rotting flesh
The universe knows the tyranny of deceit, deception
lurking in the public, the Senate
all the twisted, despicable crimes we commit against our own brothers, our kin
and instead of burning this whole city to the ground
the universe glorifies and preserves this wasteland of corruption
Do you not see the blood permanently staining the walls, the welcoming street signs
Are you that blind to not notice the number of ill increase steadily
with every passing day, impossible
The riots paint the city vibrantly
a sea of red, orange, yellow; fire
outrages and cries of innocence ring out through the night
and disassembled limbs: arms, legs, fingers, toes, torsos, breasts, name it
and you shall find it in silent parts of the streets
I find myself chuckling while on the run
Here we are, considering ourselves the perfect society
righteous above all other yet we hold timid, sensual orgies in our very beds
in our beds, backyards, neighbors homes where we bury our beasts
we murder our political figures in chance to gain their riches
only to find ourselves shaking hands with them in the afterlife
poetic justice
Let the public decide but not these villainous savages, these savages...
If I had the opportunity to flee
to flee to Gaul, to flee to Hispania, to flee to the Alps
to escape my fate here
I'd gladly take it than to have a sword find its way through the back of my neck
because I am out of money to pay off the loans I have stacked up
A lonely beggar I am and a lonely beggar I now fall deceased
Gaius Lucian Alteranius

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