Once In a Life Time

The Hellenic flame negotiated through

like a massive blood clot charging

down the leafy arteries of our city.

We’d seen it coming, rolling in

like a poison fog off the TV sea

but we could not get out of the way.

The streets were lined with cholesterol

crowds and we hoped our hastily deployed

defenses would prevent a panic attack.

As it passed, the brain became dizzy,

the heart sped up while all other functions

came to a grumbling standstill.

The civic organism shuddered with spasms,

lampposts wept multi colored tears, a ripple

of automatic response twitched hands together.

Some minor gods stepped down from Mount Olympus

like the cast from an Australian soap opera,

offering a sacred light from their antique Zippos

and a familiar tune played as the creditors

rolled their bills into cigars and smoked

the moment down to its soggy butt.

Then it was gone; our logo strewn avenues

thinned out with a Paracetamol sigh,

and transactions resumed along jangling nerves.

An autopsy found the patient still alive

and in some ways healthier than before,

though glad that this had been a once

in a life time thing.