(inspired by Machu Picchu, Peru — July 2018)
The Lost City
Stretched as far as the sunrise,
the terraces sleep in forgotten history
from their emerald steps.
Hypnotic, they undulate miles above shore
in pristine green, carrying back and forth
the past and now, high above clouds
breathless in prayer.
Each sin sinks slowly, heavily, feet-by-feet
into the burdened earth, warmed by centuries
of birth and toil before unfolding to greed
in the hallowed heart:
Once a purity, now lost to centuries
of vanished promises: dreams of gold and glory
for the next Empire.
© Rebecca Goes Rendezvous, 2019
Rebecca Goes Rendezvous 