Esplanade

(a hall of mirrors)

past the wars
among the ruins
memories
waft as mist
between the wall
glass-panelled halls
waiting
for the breeze
Alone standing
Alone glancing
above the rollers
slide the floors
adjacent doors
connecting
minutes, hours
years at last
unsettling shadows
vibrating crystals
plaster, glue,
screws and nails
will they hold
what the century told
or only show
what failed?

T.P. Wilkinson, Dr. rer. pol. writes, teaches History and English, directs theatre and coaches cricket between the cradles of Heine and Saramago. He is author of Unbecoming American: A War Memoir and also Church Clothes, Land, Mission and the End of Apartheid in South Africa. Read other articles by T.P..