Memories and Stone
Memories of stone live on
Shadows quietly holding space
Temporarily demonstrating their designs
Until the darkness slowly slips across the earth
Shapes growing taller
Lengthening until at last nothing
Their darkened moments on a crumbling wall
Caught behind the closing curtain
Deep within the forest
Buddha stares at the world
Mostly trapped in a tangled web of trees
Expression never changing
Surrounded by remnants of civilization
Long abandoned by both man and time
Foundations supporting ancient growth
Fallen blocks intermingling with twisted roots
Blades of grass penetrating each joint
Flowers emerging from every seam
Overgrown staircases leading skyward and nowhere
A stairway to heaven abruptly clipped
Hedges filling archaic courtyards
While a vigilant lion stares at the emptiness
Eyes transfixed on nothing in the distance
The aesthetic grace of a Devil’s bridge
Once a proud symbol of advancement
Obvious to no one anymore
Reduced to obsolescence without acceptance
Olden waterways
Their course changed again and again and again
Tiny ripples bumping across an abandoned crossing
Overgrowth laying claim the embankment
Supports eroded far beyond recognition
Peeking out from the brackish mud
Giant forest stones covered in mossy brilliance
Unplanned monoliths and menhir
Haphazardly placed by natural selection
Whenst long forgotten histories of pebbles began
Those tumbled stones nestled in riverbeds
Born as boulders on distant mountaintops
Slowly coerced to lower elevations
Leaving grains behind as they passed
Invisible threads to their places of origin
Time reveals the power of nature
Healing on a planetary scale
Reclamation of the defamation
Gaia slowly removes the traces of humanity
Until almost nothing remains
Only memories and stone
author’s note
The earth has demonstrated a power beyond anything human beings can imagine; including the power to repair itself after being ravaged by mining, deforestation, global conflict, and carelessness. This piece is a conceptual look at what the world might look like long after the age of men has passed. Only stone will remain; outlasting steel, wood, and even plastic.
- When We Lost Control - October 13, 2025
- The Crumbling Space Around Me - October 10, 2025
- Sorrow - October 9, 2025
Most creative poetry. Lots to like here such as the line -Overgrown staircases leading skyward and nowhere. Made me think of Stairway to Heaven
A profound look at what the world will look like if all humanity fades out. Stone – ancient and beautiful. Great phrasing and a thought provoking look at time. Well done, Ralph.
Great work Ralph and some wonderful and memorable phrasing to boot. Thought-provoking and a pleasure to read my friend. Cheers!
Sooner or later this maybe all we are left with, stone statues of the things we were, the things that we accomplished. Great piece Ralph
Just like we look at the ruins of ancient civilisations and imagine what their society and lifestyle must have been like, so it shall be when our own civilisation is gone and lies in ruins. Well written, Ralph. A memorable read.