Michelle Cameron
NERO
The third morning
of siege, Nero
turned from the window.
The courtyard below
still a placid place,
the fountains and the green avenues,
the world beyond
burning, inextinguishable
as altar flame
and -- glistening with swords
past the cloistered, cool
shadowed marble corridors --
the barbarians.
The glow of red wood,
the supple bend, the resin scent
rising from his fingers
Nero raised a shaking hand
and made the bow
move across the strings
a boy, again, who,
one plaything broken,
looks for comfort in what’s left.
Date of Birth: June 19, 1958 Location: Chatham, New Jersey Email: mcameron@gti.net Website: http://www.noretreat.org/mec/ Publications: Samsara Quarterly, Eclectica, Lips, The Paterson Literary Review, The Physik Garden, The Dakota House Journal, AtomicPetals, The Paumanok Review, Riding the Meridian, Stirring V3:E7, V3:E8
