Facades of permanence exposed:
such wondrous structures predisposed
to fracture, fade, admit decay,
partitioning each room in time,
hatch entrances no blueprint drew
toward yawning vaults and withdrawn walls,
as marble fixtures slacken, lean,
and brass adornments founder dull,
as gravity collects the rent,
and ground reclaims a cornerstone,
and rising vines constrict their grip,
and weeds foreclose foundations whole,
as mortar molders, chips to slip,
and platforms falter in a gale,
entablature slumps into mud,
til buttress bolsters vacancies,
and stairwells wallow in their wreck,
as columns prop top-heavy clouds,
and arches veer to gaping skies,
where vestibule becomes the world,
when edifice meets precipice
- how architects will reminisce.