The Ruins

I came along with high expectation
And hopes of grandeur, instead defacement
A ruined mass of fallen structure
Displaced gray stones in random stature

A mist alighted like a screen
A passing shroud that blurred the scene
And when it lifted a man I saw
Standing by what seemed a door

With hand he beckoned fervently
Responding, I sensed his urgency
I entered the ruins like a ghost
And followed with awe my new found host

He cast my mind back to an age
of decadence, richness, hard to gauge
My eyes receptive, I was beginning to see
Its many rooms now clear to me

I stepped into a hall with floors of marble
And sweeping staircase, a sight to marvel
A gallery of oils adorned the wall
The face of my guide appeared in them all

He smiled at me as I gasped in wonder
At the treasure to view on which to ponder
Porcelain, tapestry, it had the lot
Even a dance floor for pavane and gavotte

Four poster beds with embroidered drapes
The smell of must was hard to take
From mullioned window I glimpsed the lake
With swans and ducks I make no mistake

Manicured lawns and statuettes
Embraced the lawns like silhouettes
Reflecting the atmosphere at this time
A faraway bell had started to chime

What happened here I asked the man
Squandered by me and the rest of the clan
We waged a bet and sadly lost
It all went, at such great cost

The toll of the bell was getting louder
He turned to go, he was losing his power
Fast fading before my very eyes
Now in the ruins and the demise

I browse the toppled masonry
I sense his smile, his presence, his waving hand
Once garden, in place the moss and ivy grow
With sad reflection I turn to go

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