You park your understanding in a word
As if it’s safe to come back later —
Engine dormant, chassis undisturbed;
Into the road the least hesitation is fatal:
Sounds rush past your entrance in a herd.
It’s useless seeking refuge in a page
As if once stricken senses fallen numb will
Steer towards signs that never do assuage
Fear of misdirection, exits that crumble,
Walls eroded, turnings unrecoverable.
Inside these ruined storeys search and stumble;
Where are attendants, salvagers of the age
Of intonation gone to rubble?