Ancient Strands Pared

History's dark mysteries
laced with silts,
covered with lime,
without pomp released
from reliquary dungeons;
with fanfare displayed
in  tiered mausoleums.
Shadows from the past,
now posterity's measure,
set on scaled stands
beneath custom cases

Into antiquity's graveyard
feet lightly tread,
on the de-limed trail
sign markers unveiled,
with modern craft
remolded, refinished
bridging time's gulf
severing pristine threads

A silent vigil begins
as a parade
of contemporary eyes
scan the horizon.
Through the thick fog
a grainy prism unfolds
Through dilated lens,
retrace the timeline
highlighting wispy memories,
paring broken bands
of a fading rainbow
dissected by time

A silent wake continues
as sterile nostrils
strain to sniff
the savory aromas
of Roman feasts, Greek festivals,
smell the lurid scents
of Basheba and Cleopatra,
inhale the rancid odors
of human sacrifices,
gasp at rotting vapors
of massacred armies,
exhale the nautious fumes
of Pompei's silted plain

A silent requiem plays,
and staunched ears
strain to hear
the muffled sighs
of bound mummies,
the pulsing shockwaves
of clanging swords,
exploding cannon balls,
the piteous cries
of starving peasants,
the dying gasps
of diseased children