Photography And Half-Thoughts By Mitchell Hegman

...because some of it is pretty and some of it is not.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Empire

We had our choice.
Cling to the rock
or cling to the vine.
The rock: sharp-edged, crumbling at the edges, difficult to grasp.
The vine: pliant, easy to grasp.
I remembered then—who knows why—the fall of Rome was a process of decline.
The Romans had gone soft
with Vandals and Goths at the door.
It required years of mistakes to fail.
Our choice seemed natural.
We could dye our hair black
and wear black clothing.
Grab the rock.
--Mitchell Hegman

2 comments:

  1. No man is an island just as no nation can continue to be in isolation. Those who refuse to acknowledge that we are but one ship, one planet and that we are all inter-connected are bound to see the "Empire" crumble. Like Nero, play the fiddle while the new Rome burns!

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  2. All true. We choose the easy path at our own peril.

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