falling down

Old houses disappear
under green
and gross neglect.
Note
here
homes
die from rot
insects
earth tremors
the sea.
To tear down
makes ground
more valuable
so they stay
shuttered,
standing,
aslant.

Kuras,
that is
the storehouses
of grain and goods
not wood,
stone sturdy and rarer,
remain longer,
repurposed.

Farmers
keep
plastic,
metal
until
they brittle, rust
beyond roping
and riveted repair.
Their field economy
extends to
buildings
which are
bundled,
broken debris
seeking
employment.

What can be saved?
Houses and storerooms,
farms and fields
will once again flood,
decay
rivaling
city
ruin,
woodland
loss.

Under
slowly rising seas
we remember things
always fall down
around us -
never
long
before
that fact
reasserts itself.