Since this past August, I have been an anxious and reluctant patient. My slumber was suddenly disturbed one morning by rumbling tremors deep within the earth I was resting upon. My body felt like it was about to split apart like a lost ship crashing on a surf-tossed reef. My spine, which supports the long nave, had multiple fractures. A number of large stones plummeted down on to the marbled floor. My shoulders, which hold up the main towers, swayed several times because I didn't have the strength to hold fast against the lurching assault. The large exquisitely carved pinnacles atop the main tower shattered and fell hundreds of feet to the ground near one of my shattered ribs. The experts told me there was a great deal of other damage as they trussed me up with great quantities of heavy wire and other paraphernalia. How different it was at my christening day over a hundred years ago. Presidents Teddy Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson spoke of the glorious edifice I would become while ten thousand people cheered.
Endnote: This is my first attempt at writing a prose poem. I just started a course on writing these at the Writers' Center in Bethesda, MD. The idea is to push me out of my comfort zone, so forthcoming ones will be somewhat on the 'wild side' (or at least flamboyant).
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