in 1979 I discover
I cannot roller skate 
and that in this pursuit at least 
I am in the minority 

later I become a
time-hopping historian
I travel to gladiatorial Rome
where I pioneer wheeled footwear 

I am celebrated in paintings 
and sculpture and lewd graffiti 
although no one 
quite masters my profile 

Suzanne Verrall lives in Adelaide, Australia. Her flash fiction, essays and poetry appear in Atlas and Alice, Flash Frontier, Archer Magazine, Lip Magazine, Poetry NZ Yearbook, Australian Poetry Journal, and others. www.suzanneverrall.com