The Failure of Architecture

…this is a poem about the dehumanizing impact of the cubicle’d corporate world, and the often questionable ethics that pervade it…

 


…collage entitled: “Robotomy” – by: rob kistner © 2004…

 

The Failure of Architecture

•

they rise gargantuan
icons of the clever human

they vibrate
with the chaos of mixed agenda

they hum with networked urgency
data outdistancing comprehension
‘we can’ beyond the reach of ‘should we’

bedecked in stainless
glass
and stone
ablaze in halogen and neon
strewn here and there with art
their essence remains sterile
their foundation is profit
their cornerstone often cupidity

in varying shape and differing size
swollen with the buzz
rustle
and clatter
of corporate cacophony

they flank in concrete corridors
that criss and cross
ensnared in the honk
screech
and roar
of gridlocked anguish

soaring above the drone and glare
and the dirge of dying dignity
these pretentious monoliths can intimidate
emotionally eviscerate
creatively castrate
spiritually suffocate
stagger and stun

a cold calculated majesty

ultimately — this architecture fails
for it does not move the soul
that seeks the folded petal’s mystery

that marvels
at the smallness of a sprouting frond
the beauty of a burled oak
the magic of a budding branch
at the glory of a redwood’s rise

it does not lift the spirit
soothed by a morning breeze
whispered in autumn aspens
or stirred by a loon’s lament
over the still water of a dusk lake
or thrilled by the song of birds
the mighty swoop of a redtail hawk
or captivated by a coyote’s midnight call

it cannot touch the heart
that needs to see a salmon’s trek
the dolphin’s arc in an open sky
the roll of unobstructed clouds
or a fall of stars

it offers nothing to the dreamer
who needs to hear the crack of thunder
resound for miles across the plain
then off the mountain’s face again

yes…

this architecture fails the human core
that needs the fresh embrace of rain
the crisp and quiet drift of snow
the hues and sway of living fields

it leaves the spirit cold
that needs to watch the orchards bloom to fruit
see forests thick beyond horizons
or feel the lift of cresting surf

no…

there are no human constructs
that satisfy this need to know true splendors
evolving natural wonders

wonders that inspire
resonate the heart
that liberate the soul
to leave one…

…transcendent

• • •

rob kistner © 2010

…this edited rewrite, of a poem I wrote in 2007, was inspired by a prompt at sunday scribblings

5 thoughts on “The Failure of Architecture”

  1. Civilised(?) man will always yearn for things lost by progress(?). Don’t blame architects and designers blame greed and profit making. What we must do is of course retain those places that we can escape to, even if we can’t live there.

    Great thought provoking poem.

  2. hi old egg –

    The architects and designers to whom I refer when I make the statement that this architecture fails are the architects of the greed and profit — the buildings are symbolism of the cupidity… they are the ones who are turning their backs on, or abusing the precious natural world as they sacrifice their dignity and integrity…

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