For Now, the Chimney Stands

In the ashes of a home Remains a stone fireplace That still stands against the sky Decaying at its own pace Earth, water, and wind Now its only adversaries, Unless you add time to the mix. It marks the place Where once humans lived, Like a cross without arms, A fragment of a tombstone Is the best it can muster, The once cheerful warmth of its heart. Indistinguishable from ambient air. At one time a barn was here too! But signaling its weariness By leaning too hard toward the future As if to brace itself for the final onslaught, It won its own release, Rough hewn planks stripped away, Finding temporary lives elsewhere. Stone walls that once Sheltered whole towns From marauding hordes Have their own plans For reincarnation, Migrating, as it were, To patios and garden pools. All is change my love, Everything we hold dear Vanishes and then reappears, Briefly, in other bedrooms, Like warmth from a fireplace… Only the stars in lover's eyes Remain the same, until they change.