"The back and cover of the sarcophagus are unfinished and its
inscription is blank, which may imply that it went unsold in
antiquity."
In one of those last dread works, Eros
awakens Psyche with an arrow
and they embrace. They bear
the body with perfunctory solemnity,
towards the unmarked graves
on one of the less illustrious hills. His final
sculpture uninscribed, not worthy
of being buried--poor Blautius,
such a bad salesman, and worse,
he couldn't even finish his own
grave jar. Night falls. Mourners revel
in an infinitesimal victory: All of Rome
has outlived another casketmaker!
Audio Reading:
© 1999 by Patrick Martin
Originally appeared in The Tampa Review.
© by Patrick Martin. All rights reserved. No duplication in any print or electronic format is permitted without express permission from the author.
