Chimneys of Lime

Reflections on an old copper mining town, the mine long gone...

I’ve walked at your ruins

To seek out your history,

Charted the runes of you

Stone upon stone,

I’m left with damp walls

And a sense of some mystery;

What tamed the pride

That led on to your fall?

 

Some spirit entangled you

Lived in you yesterday,

Drove you, dispersed, and then

Lay you down still,

Now all that is left

Is grim ruin and disarray,

Relics of life,

Strength of purpose, and will.

 

Cairns and old bones at

The granite-hard cemetery,

Mounds where no markers

Recall you to name,

Time has dispensed with

All need for your mimicry,

Art has replaced what

We thought to reclaim.

 

Each one that wonders will

Carry the seeds of you,

Sense all the needs of you

Time upon time,

And walk the sad ruins

That long life will lead us to,

Crumble tall hopes

Like your chimneys of lime.

 

In search of some answer

I tap your foundations,

I sound each stone wall that

Encapsulates time,

Your dearth and your downfall

Exceed your dimensions,

I walk at your ruins,

Tread softly your rhyme.

 

David Lewis Paget