Brief   Flickerings

Flash Point - an artwork by T Newfields


After Rome burns
build legends

After Byzantium falls
plant seeds

After Xi'an is looted
clear the rubble

After Timbuktu is deserted
offer poetry

After each city becomes a mausoleum
reflect on greatness

When civilization after civilization
succumbs to dust
rest above fear –

More worlds exist
than can be counted

The waves we call "life"
continually vanish & reappear

Jules: (raising his eyebrows) Is this optimistic err pessimistic?
Philyra: Kuriously both.
Jules: (feigning perplexity) Whad kin'na logic 's that?
Andrei: (with playful jest) Logic? Isn't that jest a rhetorical tool fer winning arguments?
Philyra: Many have claimed so.
Elijah: Isn't there a higher order with pure mathematical beauty?
Philyra: (toying with the others) What an enchanting myth!
Soo: Aye, strange things argh human dreams . . .