Pompeii | Teen Ink

Pompeii

June 29, 2021
By julsost BRONZE, Mountain View, California
julsost BRONZE, Mountain View, California
2 articles 0 photos 0 comments

What imprint would your body leave

     as flesh decays - frozen mid-breath?

What story would your life whisper

     if ashes rained - world paused mid-death?

 

Life-shaped holes speck this phantom night,

soon filled with plaster - under museum light.

we see:

               These star-crossed lovers beneath ashy covers,

               a story of passion told—

                                                   in      Fractured      sighs

               The wealthy lady rocking her dead baby,

               a story of loss told—

                                                   in      Forgotten      cries

               The young boy prays for a few more days

               a story of hope told—

                                                   in      Beautiful      lies


Fractured, Forgotten, Beautiful lives

                       all frozen mid-death

what story would your life imprint

if ashes rained,

                       world paused mid-breath?


The author's comments:

Recently I attended a museum exhibit about Pompeii. I learned that the bodies left in the ash after explosion decayed, and those cavities were filled with plaster. There were several such plasters displayed at the exhibit. I found the analogy between these lives creating indents in the ash and the stories we leave behind in the world fanasinating and I was inspired to write a poem that captures the pain and shock of the explosion but also the beauty of the stories that became timeless.  


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