Participation Prizes in Byzantium
Ben Nardolili
The fountains are quiet, gardens brown,
concubines choreograph the palace
and are directed by eunuchs.
The best go off on pilgrimage
while the arcades cough up
cobwebs instead of silks in every color.
Once we were the world’s caravanserai.
What bitter conquest brought
an army to blame and to curse?
None. Our walls never fell.
We laughed as the harbor rotted away,
plotted as our aqueducts filled with sand.
Ben Nardolilli is a MFA candidate at Long Island University, and a history graduate of New York University. His work has appeared in Perigee Magazine, Door Is a Jar, The Delmarva Review, Red Fez, The Oklahoma Review, Quail Bell Magazine, and Slab. Follow his publishing journey at mirrorsponge.blogspot.com.
