Sunday, December 6, 2015

Roman boredom


After Acts 24

I’m bored. This is boring.
What I must endure to rule
these stiffnecked people,
listening to stupid disputes,
constantly arguing over
their religious laws and rules
like angry birds. And
this Tarsian demolishes
their stupidity with a glance,
a word, a small gesture,
an expression on his face
suggesting he, too, has heard
all this before. I should set him
free solely for easing my boredom,
along with some recompense
suitable to my position.

The more he talks, the more,
inexplicably, my concern
grows. I am a Roman,
a governor appointed by Caesar,
in Rome a man of position and
wealth, and this follower of the way
in this backwater, this privy
of the empire, fills me
with unnamed fear.


Illustration: Paul before Felix by William Hogarth.

1 comment:

Martha Jane Orlando said...

Absolutely took my breath away . . . Thank you, Glynn! I will be sharing!