Ancient Studies (Coliseum Ghosts)

Seen from a long angle,
are we dark with a few bright spots,
or does a consistent glow
of breath and sensation
inch like a worm across the timeline?
Lifetimes come and go:
dried up, then gathering,
then waiting to pop.
Paul thinks of this one
as an extended moment
in a game of telephone.
Uncertain what the last
lifetime whispered,
he leans into the next one’s
ear: “I think she said,
Some of the greatest minds
have walked out of this orchard
mindless.” This is Torah,
and this its reward?
These coliseum ghosts, hot
letters now in someone else’s
mouth? And your teeth
scattered, metal breastplate
disintegrating underground—
even your columns worn to stumps.