an embarrassing failure, he left the project unfinished
after building for twenty-eight years; a nest of timber and granite
feathered with mother of pearl.
the moisture has caused fading and flaking,
a grime surfacing on the kidskin screen.

soon it will be lost.

a bowling alley that was never finished, a vault
in the basement full of marble, a wing undone,
windows sealed shut with cement.

still, the flowers can never be too many, or the bursts of light.