“Ancient Ruins” by Robert O. Adair

Deep in the jungle,
covered with vines
and encroaching trees,
ancient walls and battlements
once drenched in blood
from fierce battles
between heroic warriors!
Stone paved streets,
weed-covered now,
once teeming with busy multitudes.
Temples of forgotten pagan gods
with bloodstained altars.
Deeply hidden in dark, dank,
subterranean chambers.
Solid gold ingots, piled high.
Chests embellished with silver and ivory,
filled to overflowing
with glittering emeralds,
blood red rubies and shining pearls!
Proud, soaring towers
once surveyed mighty vistas
of hubristic, Imperial power.
Lions roam the crumbling royal halls,
lizards crawl in the kings chambers,
apes chatter among the trees,
while birds sing over the whitened bones
of a once mighty army.
Alas! For the passing glory
and grandeur of this world!