Jvlivs Maximvs Was Here by Fern G. Z. Carr

Roman Aqueduct at Pont du Gard, France, approx. 40-60 A.D.

Jvlivs Maximvs Was Here

Majestic Roman aqueduct at Pont du Gard
spanning fifty kilometers from Uzès to Nîmes

rising forty-eight meters above the Gardon;
architecture overwhelming in strength and beauty –

noble arches supporting its solid rock structure
with the grace and symmetry of fine lace.

Strolling along the promenades,
I daydreamed about the lives of the laborers

toiling under the hot sun to erect this masterpiece
dragging immense boulders with Herculean effort

positioning them with mathematical precision
to form a walkway boasting panoramic landscapes,

a walkway boasting the name Jvlivs
etched in one of the stones –

a trace of ancient graffiti or an attempt
to achieve immortality in the year 50 A.D.

Fern G. Z. Carr

FERN G. Z. CARR is a Director of Project Literacy, lawyer, teacher and past President of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. She is a Full Member of and former Poet-in-Residence for the League of Canadian Poets.  Carr composes and translates poetry in five languages while currently learning Mandarin Chinese.  A 2013 Pushcart Prize nominee, she has been published extensively world-wide from Finland to Mauritius. In addition to multiple prizes and awards, honours include being cited as a contributor to the Prakalpana Literary Movement in India; her poetry having been taught at West Virginia University and set to music by a Juno-nominated musician; an online feature in The Globe and Mail, Canada’s national newspaper; and her poem, “I Am”, chosen by the Parliamentary Poet Laureate as Poem of the Month for Canada.  Carr is thrilled to have one of her poems presently orbiting the planet Mars aboard NASA’S MAVEN spacecraft. www.ferngzcarr.com.