How to concentrate when the economy is crashing and our government does not care about the spiking number of infections? Walking past the television to get a banana, I hear an expert say, “The worst is yet to come.” So many years of institutional decay are catching up to us. People make comparisons to Rome.

Italy went into lockdown tonight. A national quarantine that has closed all shops, schools, restaurants, and events for two weeks. My mind flicks through memories of my trip to Rome three years ago. I remember gazing up at the oculus while families and lovers whipped me around as they snapped their self-portraits. Soon I was dizzy and stupid with tears in my eyes because I could not comprehend how such a thing was constructed two thousand years ago. I mourned because such a sublime place will never be built again. We no longer build to humble our pride.

Spiritualized – Effervescent (Chimes)

From The Complete Works | Arista, 2003 | Spotify

A moment of calm before the storm.