A connection linking two or more things
like one empire to another, until there is a palimpsest of empires
laid one upon one upon one,
cultures lathered like paint, higgledy piggeldy, on a practice canvas
Romans with their Caesars and their Latin language,
spreading like a stain across the known world,
gobbling tuna from Sicily,
celery from Asia Minor, (itself a long mislaid empire)
then, by tea-time
muffins from a press-ganged England.
But not for long.
England has its own eye on the boons of empire—
spices, sugar, sun 24/7, Ireland brought to heel,
English nosing out
other languages in the Roman manner,
like the big kid who comes from the city,
and knows everything.
Then, suddenly, the dissolution of it all,
til, in the end, people even stop believing in empires,
and the only thing left
are Jamaican patties and a few good memories.
♦
Iona Whishaw was born in BC and spent her childhood in the Kootenays and in Mexico. After twenty years working with disadvantaged adolescents she became a high school teacher and then a Principal, and retired in 2014 to write. The inspiration for her work comes from a bouquet of influences including the outsized personality of her mother and family, a year in Eastern Europe during the Communist era, and the people she absolutely adored in the tiny lakeside community of her early childhood. And Nancy drew, obviously… (the beginning of her love for reading). She has a passion for history and people’s stories and lives with her husband in Vancouver.
♦♦♦
Up Next:
“Two or three weeks pass. We’re doing it every morning and I’m starting to feel obligated. I find myself staring at my reflection in the mirror, questioning my sanity.”
The Litter I See Project 