Silt City

An unbidden damp
Attracts the fly’s crawl
Through the obvious

Decay of drowsing
Mind—obvious, but
Deeply suspenseful,

The tension between
Decay’s certainty
And the thick, weedy

Uncertainty steeped
Within the decay.
This ecosystem

Is failing—that is,
Transforming into
Some other system.

The mind no longer
Maintains its sump pumps.
The damp is rising

Through the barriers
To sink the city
Like all the cities

Sunk before—it’s time
To become one more
Lost city legend

People may seek out
For quiet visits
In snorkeling gear,

Hoping to haul up
Rich finds by the pail.
For now—moss and snails.