Fortress Wall

Early sun scours the stone,

Peels away cosmetic skin,

Shows me the bones of time.

I see this place as no one else has

(the past grants a small dispensation)

And Carcasonne is briefly mine.

Then church bells ring the service

From a tower where the clock

Stopped. years ago. 

Busy souls drape the walls again

With bright jewels of commerce,

And a mechanical pig from Taiwan

Calls the new faithful.

- Charlie Neff