Vesuvius
How did my young eyes
get in this old body?
Who is this guy
with grey in his beard?
He puts on a suit and tie for work
and complains when his kids don't close the door.
When did I turn into this?
I remember burning
ecstatic
with a gem-like flame
independent and fierce
I saw myself as Vesuvius —
a primal force
that civilization could not conquer,
too combustible for Pompei.
I was the wild, wooly Minotaur
lurking in the dark labyrinths
that proper folks would not enter.
A nocturnal creature,
I slithered through the glistening night streets
to the bars and coffee houses.
Like Vesuvius, keeping civilization at bay
but in today's Italy
the infamous mountain is mostly quiet
as domestic sprawl encroaches
from every side.
