What origins mingled, entwined
Made of us two cities calcite-clad
And grown about each others’ lines
As bridged by roots as bridges’ height
Knowing time alone could build a reef
Of such grand proportions, yet scattered
When groaning pillars had as lief
Break as be upheld or altered
No less the careless giant who levelled
Causeways and mirrored towers
Long in the making, then who spelled
Doom by chisel and care unoffered
What gulf of the riverbank was made
When white facades were rent assunder
And dew fell upon curtailed cascades
Of ions, and stone, and water
Enjoyed this very visual piece about transience. With or without a careless giant, I suppose that which doesn’t change will break; the land is always taken by erosion, by the sea, and volcanic events, that cause so much damage, are necessary to renew it.
Thank you 🙂 Now that I come back to this in light of your comment it is making me think predominantly of climate change! It gets me wondering just how transient our civilization will prove to be
My pleasure. I know what the piece was about, and the land and sea can also be allegorical, but I do think about climate change quite a bit. How transient? Very. I don’t think any significant group is on a path to a solution. Sorry, a bit depressing.
I feel a bit more optimistic about our chances with climate change but that may have to do less with the facts and more with enjoying SciFi – wanting to imagine mankind at some point in the distant future, traveling other stars!
I know what you mean, and me too, but I think the line between reality and scifi/fantasy is important. Even though I write a bit of speculative fiction, my heart is pretty much chalk dust and statistical thermodynamics.🤓
Ah, that’s sad I guess, but at least you can still write fun stories 😉