Jostling against tiny shoulders
You make your way through
A moment’s pause at the threshold –
No time to spare
A hurried entrance
A foregone goodbye
What is this place?
First glance –
Eyes met with grandeur
An apparent immaculacy
Ceilings high
Walls paneled
A grand chandelier
Over a marble floor
A helical staircase
Carved handrails
Going up
Going down
Take your pick
There’s some noise downstairs
A jamboree of sorts
You walk towards it
And look up
The light falling through the skylight
Equally enticing
Time is running fast
How do you choose?
Wait
See this floor first
Strange, so empty
Walking through it quietly
You see it clearer
Grandness – a wobble
Barely standing
Walls – just boards
Encasing the stone
Paint peeling off
To reveal some more
You zoom in
It’s not so bad
Behold the layers
A futile attempt
To mask the old,
The memorable
The insecure.
You try scraping it off
It only allows so much
Residue stuck in the nails –
A reminder
Of what cannot be forced
You walk through the hallway
Wondering still
A faint uneasiness
A constant tugging
No time to spare
So much to see
This empty grandiose
And the other unseens
It’s tough outside
You just got lucky.