Horace on Time

by Nate Klug

after Ode 4.7

Snows scatter, and leaves, soon after,
swarm back to their trees, netted all at once
like Indiana bats. The errant circuit
of the moon’s made up for what it spent;
too fast now, grass will resume
the awkward berms along the canal
and abandoned armory lawns. Stooped
among spider webs in a municipal garage,
Vosburgs Jr. and Sr. test the intentions
of pull cords, in their heads the weeds
rampant already…
Isn’t it soon to say
how long your heart’s change will last,
or by what terms—though we leave them belief,
a little eloquence—descendants might speak
of a devoured earth? Years after the accident,
Diana still dreams she sees her friend,
while tenacious Theseus may never catch
the voice of King Pirithous, hard once
as he loved him, far as he reaches back.

Published on January 5, 2016