Imperial Cupidity and its Consequences
(an experiment in rhymed free verse or, "anti-verse")

Free verse, as Robert Frost observed,
is like a game of tennis
played without a net.
Like the “Rules-Based Order” exceptionally reserved
for only One to exploit, with its unearned profits deserved
for doing whatever it wished to whomever at everyone else’s expense.
Easy Empire that never gets tired.
No rhyme scheme or accent required.
When Rome makes no sense
then you get
Venice.