ROME
by Beth Mattson
The US is totally just like ancient Rome.
The perfect analogy.
The participatory democracy,
The classic over-extension,
The silly dress code.
And do you remember when Rome fell,
To the walking-dead,
Flesh-eating,
Tooth-gnashing zombies?
We could be next.
From My Own Devices – A Word Comic. © 2006 licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.
Beth Mattson lives in San Francisco, where she writes zombie fiction and poetry about your mom. Originally from Wisconsin, she earned her MFA at California College of the Arts.
Editor’s Note: Beth Mattson is at the forefront of the New Humorist movement in modern poetry. Through the use of short, simple language, with an expert application of levity, she is able to communicate her message to a widespread audience. But there is nothing elementary about Beth’s tackling of topical issues such as war, politics, sex, sexuality, and self-esteem. Through the use of sarcasm and absurdity, she is not making light of weighty issues, but rather giving her audience the gift of humor in an age when it is much needed. I hope to see more poets fighting for the future of the art by creating work that the masses can and will embrace and appreciate.
Want to read more by and about Beth Mattson?
My Own Devices – A Word Comic.
California College of the Arts 2009 MFA in Writing
As It Ought To Be 
Rome’s colonies kept some of Rome though– the Latin, the vineyards, the cross. What will our colonies keep of us? Probably the internet, till we lose power.
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