http://io9.com/9-of-the-most-fascinating-abandoned-mansions-from-aroun-471010619
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In lonely, darkened corners hang the cobwebs of almost; The last discarded memories are long-forgotten ghosts Of unattained ambitions and of echo-empty boasts. Their voices now are silence, but the cobwebs gather dust. I sewed a net of gossamer, and pricked it full of holes, To fish the moon's reflection from a sea where night unfolds Its tales of mystery and dreams that no man yet has told; Dawn caught me empty-handed, standing sodden in the shoals. I tried my hand at playing Man. The critics rode reviews O'er courses somewhat quizzical; their hollow-horned halloos Had, in the distance, sighted game retreating right on cue, Though never run to earth – their quarry 'scaped that rendezvous. To pluck the stars from out the sky, to venture through a mist And reach the edge of nothingness, to cast my boat adrift Upon the whims of fortune's tide, such destinies I've wished. Yet all I have to show from life are unfulfilled requests. I hide this dull uncertainty with metaphors of gloom, Search out cachets of yesterday to spill their stale perfume; The attic of time's mansion's stuffed with flowers that never bloomed But wilt and fade – their pale bouquet breathes melancholic fumes. No spiders climb the cobwebs of my dry-rot riddled past From which I built tomorrows, though I knew they'd never last. My future stands deserted now, a derelict unmasked; Old ruins only phantoms haunt, where cobwebs gather dust. |
| (1982) |
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adapted from an uncredited photo found at http://io9.com/9-of-the-most-fascinating-abandoned-mansions-from-aroun-471010619 |
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| photo: Stephen Alsford |
| Created: November 17, 2014. | © Stephen Alsford |