Figure D32 TEPID

A simple fence surrounding ashy meads,

And in their midst, a tuffet dark and low

Lies steaming in the mud. A notice reads:

“The Earth was not so steadfast long ago,

“When continents could drift and lava flow.

“But age and dryness made the engine stall

“That once made mountains smoke and belch and glow.

“Stranger, you see Earth’s last fires fall:

“EXIGUUS, the last volcano of them all.”