The dry dust of Pompeii
Whispers to me softly
Of the days gone by
In a long winded story

Where valour was deep
And labour was cheap
Where Greeks and Romans
Mingled within easy reach

Where mosaic and frescoes
Achieved remarkable artistry
Where politics and bureaucracy
Attained unique mastery

Where prostitution prevailed
As though mandated by fate
Where the rights of women
Were curtailed by the state

Where city planning skills
Accomplished rare distinction
Where gladiators were induced
To fight to extinction

Where theatre and arts
Existed in harmony
With spa and sports
Without any acrimony

Where a furious volcano
Reduced them to dust
Where Pompeiians got coated
With the earth’s molten crust

The bodies in plaster
Tell us only one tale
Of human vulnerability
In the face of a gale

One angry Vesuvius
Fuming with fury
Destroyed a civilisation
At the height of its glory

Subir Chakraborty / 30th May 2018