Empire’s Lullaby

by Nicole Lombardi / August 3rd, 2025

Sleep is not silent in the empire,
whose tentacles
catch fire instead
of dreams and
lick the roots of trees
in search of death.

Empire feeds on
sleep, preying on
the cooing of babies once
roused by a soft nipple,
now torn apart by
exploding stars that drink the
human memory
of milk.

Nicole Lombardi a high school English teacher and writer who lives in Oak Park, Il. She has essays published in Mindful Word, English Journal and Feels Blind Literary Magazine. Her poetry can be found in Beyond Words Literary Magazine, Dissident Voice, After Hours Press, and others. Read other articles by Nicole.

This article was posted on Sunday, August 3rd, 2025 at 8:00am and is filed under Poetry.