ode to air

Crisp air caress my face

I know I won't outgrow you

Your peeking friend up there

He knows

Now send that secret downward 

my eagles perched.

Here I stand atop an uncommon table

Overseer of this freely roamed land

Men who built me worn into the ground

Legacy etched on my weathered face

Mighty in stance, amenities boasting 

Three sisters keep watch under my feet

Brothers in arms near earth as angels

Vigilant by day, forgotten by night

"But our purpose abused!"

Scream the scribbles at base

Shameless mockery, anonymous foes

Terrifying indifference

"Hear me!" I cry into the void

An artifact I, though sturdy in heart

Can't bring a rock to change its ways

And exist I will, outliving them all 

In my nominal splendor.