ara pacis

months roll over and into themselves

and each week collapses into ashes

we are buried & the weight of all that time

bears down,

but this is not Pompeii—

the eruption here is gradual.

we are still more than hollow spaces.

barely.

the threads that link us fray

and stretch and buckle, the tension

mounting; both of us are pulling.

synergy is our antithesis.

there are barriers between us:

sturdy concrete, gravel-studded

(the Romans couldn't have done better)

and unshakeable.

still, sometimes you make me wish for earthquakes.