Spiral and spire

Spiral and spire

Never reach the sky

They are rooted,

Earthbound reminders

Of the pursuit of immortality

The desire to be more than a footnote

Historical archaeology

An architectural pimple

On the face of humanity

Hubris is another word for arrogance

The conceit of man

The lack of humility

In a mirrored shard

Every arched roof

A snook cocked

By the seat of its pants

Hanging Babylon

By the scruff of its neck

There are no silver linings

The result,

A King-sized bed of nails

A god could lie upon

With nary a flicker

Of emotion

The skin barely dimpled

The shock of impropriety

In every display

Of humour

When design classics

Barely last long enough

To become a blot

On a landscape

A dystopian feature

Crashing to earth

As the City

Holds its breath

Long enough to

Settle into dust

Only the gods know what happens next

But it won’t be

A fortress of solitude.