the  spire             
  
  once upon a time, there was a     
  benevolent  spire, towering well  
  above our tallest trees. it  was  
  clad in white scales, and shaped  
        liked  a  mushroom.         
       we  loved  it  dearly.       
  
  it predated  us  by many years,   
  and we did not know its original  
   builders.  they had  used  its   
   hollow body  for  many  strange  
  purposes - a  womblike place  of  
  gestation,  a storage of  strage  
  fluids, a temple to some kind of  
    arcane    deity.                
  
   we   were  grateful  for  its    
   presence,  and honored it  the   
   only  way  we   knew  how:  by   
        breaking        in.         
  
                                          
                                          
  
  this place we  called  our city:  
   wavy  and fractured, with each   
  courtyard on a different height,  
  roads  becoming roofs  becoming   
   drains. and  some places,  like  
   the spire,  nobody had accessed  
  for many years. once  its  walls  
   are  just too  high,  and  the   
  internal routes to labyrinthine,  
  a  place  among others is easily  
             overlooked.            
  
  so, basically, that  summer  the  
  four of us snuck and climbed and  
  crawled for weeks, searching for  
  a secluded place to do drugs and  
  play  music  on  our handhelds.   
  instead  we  found  vast  lungs   
    drained  of   their  catalyst   
  sludge, and a birds-eye  view to  
  make sense of our  roamings  for  
         years   to   come.         
  
   a  central spine, a  staircase   
   around it,  the seven  toroidal  
   lungs stacked outside, and the   
  control room on top. the sockets  
  for its eyes. the smaller spires  
    for  radiating  consciousness   
            invitations.            
  
                                          
  
  in twenty fourteen, the tower is  
   toppled and  eaten by machines.  
   after a while, something new is  
  conjured  in its place. it's  a   
  tiny maw at first, shorter than   
   us,  and we  let  it  be.  our   
  journeys still end  at its feet.  
  
  but  then  we are betrayed. the   
   new tower eats  us.  others are  
  sucked inside. new buildings are  
   manifested  overnight, only  to  
  disappear  in the  evening fog.   
  for  a  while  its some  kind of  
  timeshare scam. goons are placed  
  outside, and we get beaten up  a  
   few  times,  and  stop  going.   
  
   iirc  it's currently  owned  by  
  some energy drink baron who uses  
  it to  hold all his fourty eight  
              cars.....