the architecture of nostalgia

A lighthouse in Basco, Batanes (Philippines)

first, a vision

of a rose-tinted longing

sensed in blueprints where

lines intersperse with dreams

in domes and vaults,

in doorways and arches.

then a pain of

the bittersweet kind is

born as the winter from

the marble floor or old wood

harks back at memories

measured in length of beams

or weight of stone.

but there is no return,

no grand staircases nor

dark tunnels that lead to

a terrace of a younger world

only columns and pillars

that stand as proud

as you are able to recall.

else, they too shall

fall apart. like the

unfeeling walls that

once shielded or the

roof that not too long ago

(or was it?) sheltered.

and there is no comfort

in turning the other way, to

another window that

faces still water or a tree

for all speak of familiar

pathos and colors

that came to pass like

your secret places

behind the oak door.

you run your fingers

through bricks and tiles,

grooves and cracks,

like you would a lover's

hair and you christen

them melancholia --

at least a name

for the pain.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 





  
The Dunguaire Castle in County Galway, Ireland. 



 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 




 
The Colosseum in Rome, Italy


 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  






The Summer Palace in Beijing, China.
 
 




 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 




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The Empire State Building in New York City, New York




 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 



 

 
The Great Pyramids in Egypt




 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 






The windmills of Kinderdijk in the Netherlands


 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 






 
The Taj Mahal in Agra, India


 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   




A lonely spot in a monastery in Barcelona, Spain




 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   





Inside Inside the Round Tower in Copenhagen, Denmark


 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 




 

The Stonehenge on the Salisbury Plain, southern England


 

 

 

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