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.....