endless time
a grown-up bedtime story
Photo credit: Heather Zabriske photography on Unsplash
~~~~
He was a time traveler as well
and I met him when our paths intersected
in Rome under the rule of Nero,
the son of Agrippina
and student of Lucius Seneca.
I was in the wrong place, at the wrong time,
when I heard the emperor plotting the demise of the very agent
of his crown
his own mother
and the time traveler intervened
by pushing me behind an embroidered tapestry
saving me from impending doom
then I saw his body de-molecularize to redirect his journey
though he was propelled to a different quadrant
and I ended up on a woeful trip with Odysseus
and a malevolent cyclops who hadn’t eaten for three days.
I dodged my fate by casting my body into the tumultuous waters
ready to face the shark infested dangers
when something pulled me deeper into the dark ocean
and three mermaids swam to my aid
bringing me down to Neptune’s private suite
and placed me ever so gently upon his opulent berth
shaped like an enormous white shell
and I was destined to become either his dinner
or his dessert
It was then that I saw the time traveler return
and did not resist when he picked me up
and threw me in his oversized satchel
and we departed
with me fearing the worst
for I had taken with me a giant pearl from the shell in Neptune’s bedroom.
I looked into the eyes of the time traveler
they were no longer hollow and mysterious
they burned like fiery embers
and it became apparent that we were both destined
to intersect perpetually in endless time
