Fewer cement trucks
than usual are arriving at the mall
The wind howls round
The corners of the empty buildings.

This is the way it is now
Decay is inevitable.
Old buildings and old people
Are being replaced.

Finally we will have new buildings
With a sense of hope.
And the new cement is better
Not like the old cement
The Romans used.
It's cheaper now and
We've worked out that it will last
A great deal longer.

The Coliseum? A superb building.
Those perfect arches
And the blood in the sand
And the struggle,
One brave man against another
A few Christians
And a tiger, half starved to death.
Then the Pantheon
What strength
What massy power
What certitude.

That's the wonder of cement
It allows for focus and
Lasts longer than flesh.