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.....