Another Broken Home by Jeff Bagato

paradise so often becomes hell
when a king bears himself up
on the false pillars of pride
which he carved alone
in a legacy of dreams

wind blows across time,
stripping the houses from those pillars,
a culture from its bones

a princess goes mad
under the influence of wind;
the king must die—he who killed 
her favorite brother—the son
whose greater strength sealed 
his doom

as his children died,
the king built a pillar, one by one,
and so they fell in time,
eleven broken stones releasing souls;
one pillar stands today, 
the soul of the patricide 
trapped as if forever
in the rock:

a mushroom stone
like a fist raised
with a cry 

A multi-media artist living near Washington, DC, Jeff Bagato produces poetry and prose as well as electronic music and glitch video. Some of his poetry has appeared in Empty Mirror, Futures Trading, In Between Hangovers, Otoliths, Your One Phone Call, and Zoomoozophone Review. His published books include Savage Magic (poetry), And the Trillions (poetry), The Toothpick Fairy (fiction), and Computing Angels (fiction). A blog about his writing and publishing efforts can be found at jeffbagato.com.