hoodoo magic

these primitive towers
topple above us
so purposeful, so self-aware
someone had to leave them there
someone had to carve, to fashion the grooves

the humanoid forms with gradients of burnt bronze
gazing on us with a tinge of remorse and recognition
weathering as generations stride along
humming the undercurrent that brings us here to stare and wonder

and, come on, someone had to architect the coppery cities below
not some kind of god
someone more like us
who else could invent such a place
that could snatch the breath from your chest

rubble bounding ever upward and downward
how black goes to red goes to sand goes to sky
tell me that wasn't painted with a human hand
the veins sprawling out are practically pulsing alive

here they left us elusive treasures
watch your step, you might trip over one
the claw of a creature who once lorded these lands
or is it a tooth? oh the cryptography never ends
thread it and lace it around your neck

may it serve as a reminder
of who you really are
transport you to eras louder than a ticking clock
so the rumble of your footsteps
are heard in the back of every mind from here on