building, roar

the first time he stood in a city

it was to visit his brother

in a hospital the size of a mountain

a nurse directed him to what they said was

the garden

just a bench and three ferns

an unintentional space

with opaque windows, rusting fire escapes

dark brick walls squeezing on all sides

rising to a sour rectangle of sky

it took a few days to put his tongue

to the feeling of the sound because

he had never heard a building before

continuous ominous

rumble of industrial breath

unsettling, droning

longing for a regular rise and fall

an inhaling and exhaling of life

at night, without the background chatter of day

the building would roar terrible truths

later he surprised himself

moved to the city

took jobs in the bowels of large public buildings

maintaining their power plants

networks and air conditioning

where he would spend most of his days

with one ear pressed to the walls