The City

The city sat amidst tumbling sand and decaying rock. Its stature and purpose concealed from those who mulled amidst its towering wrought metal. And the towers watched, a silent mother, dictator over its whole. From end to end, projected upon a basalt desert of endless neglect. Those who struck out were often made ornate in garments of success, yet, those who stumbled from its protective grasp did not always return. The towers couldn’t stop them, it harbored no will. Its creators long passed as it became mother to generations thereafter. The one truth of the omnipresent rock it governed was stability, and similar to the solid rock it was cemented upon, it remained. As generations passed, as towers rose and fell, as menageries shifted and life swelled. It rarely lent a hand, receiving none itself. Like this the city faded, as the layers fell.