The Timescale Of Gradually Increasing Chaos Of Human Events Poem by Patti Masterman

Before the Revolution:
The jewels sparkled at the Empress' throat
The children were all tucked away in their beds
The clock struck at the eleventh hour
She walked down the darkened corridors in brocade slippers
her dress made subdued swishing noises
everything still and quiet

At the beginning of the Revolution:
The Empress had forgotten to wear her jeweled choker
The children had forgotten to go to bed because nobody reminded them
The clock forgot how to chime hours and instead chimed every quarter hour
She stumbled as she walked unsteadily down the hall, in her stockings
her dress was torn but she couldn't remember why
outside were vague noises of raised voices and sometimes gunfire

In the midst of the Revolution:
The Empress could not find her jewelry cabinets
The children had lost all their bedtime books and furniture and servants and pets
The clock was burnt and smoking curiously
She hobbled down the cold floors, barefooted
her clothing was borrowed from someone long dead whose name she could not even recall anymore
outside and inside were shouts and clamor, at all hours of both the day and night

Nearing the end of the Revolution:
The Empress could remember many things she had lost
The children and other relatives were imprisoned together in another Palace, miles away
The clocks and everything else of any value had been stolen months before
She crawled on her knees, amazed at how long the passages had become
because her dress and everything around her was on fire
though there was incredible silence, because they were busy electing a new government, miles away