i am thinking about the woman in a century of peace on a bright mosaic she is washing on her knees and she looks up at the black sky beyond the mountain tall she says oh good the rain is finally going to fall today this was pompeii and everyone has memories from the night that melted stone the neighbor s nightgown the screaming on the phone and the tired man at the station said we can t tell who s alive all we ever know is that the tourists survive tra la la tra la let s go they say let s go pompeii and i think about pompeii when i feel an end is near just before the rain and every time you disappear and i think about a teacup suspended and half served and all the scholars know is that it s perfectly preserved oh oh oh oh that s all they say this was pompeii and as for my own kingdom not a table leg was charred i simply lost my kingdom cause i held it much too hard once i had a sadness the sadness turned to trust the trust turned into ashes and to lawyers and to dust a century a day this was pompeii this was pompeii 