Seven

Wonder! Here was the statue of the god,

Lord of lightning and ruler of his kin.

Cruel chisels chipped away his majesty.

Was He alive before that sacrilege?

Wonder! Here was the Huntress's temple,

Slim columns like the moon's silver arrows.

Heresy, to burn a sanctum for fame.

Now, worship Her only in wooded glens.

Wonder! Here was a man giant as dreams.

Colossal bronze shone like the second sun.

The land would not long bear a proud Titan.

More than Icarus suffer vanity.

Wonder! Here was a king's final repose,

So grand a tomb that others bear his name!

Crusaders ground marble into plaster

And Mausolus's honor is a church.

Wonder! Here were magnificent gardens,

Envy of all that breathed Babylon's air,

But the ravenous earth shook, swallowing

Beautiful flowers and wind-scoured stone.

Wonder! Here was the triumph of an age,

Long guarding ships through Poseidon's domain

'Til jealous quakes destroyed the usurper.

Only immortals can create a star.

Wonder! A pyramid marble covered,

Hellfire white, then time and invaders came.

It alone survives. This is mastery.

Every child wishes to live forever.