Are they so pretty?

The gleam upon the resplendent façades

Strikes the surface of the waters

And then is cast back

Upon their gargantuan sides

Like a childish game of keep-away

Those solemn obelisks look down condescendingly

On two bedroom homes

And squat industries at their feet

They shine in the sun like Kings frozen in their splendor

Children saunter among their roots

Like ants among the redwoods

The city noise is dull and subdued

As it sighs under the summer sun

The homeless seek the shelter of pillared shade

While the affluent seek air-conditioned cabs

Two classes

One climbing up the monstrous spires

By stepping on the faces of the others

Then the silence is cut

A gong smashed at the feet of the steel and glass idols

The children run

And the buildings begin to fall like dominos

While the perfidious illusion is broken