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.....