Novices learn in wax and clay
Freemen with mallets use stone
When the numbers grew so large
That the Emperor declared victory
Senators looked the other way
Mounds of bodies
Too many to count—
One hundred thousand?
How could this be?
Let the record show a single letter
At least for now, at this moment
Let the victors tell their story
Until we stop this madness
Someday
J. D. Mackenzie is holding up well, if by holding up well you mean writing poems every day and desperately trying to convert classes from traditional to online for an American community college in western Oregon. He and his family live in the foothills of the Coastal Range and are quickly relearning the art of growing their own arugula.