North by Northwestern

Nestle up against the wall,
Covered in pockmarks and veins and bristles,
Cold and grabbing against skin,
An irregularity in the brick hooking
On thin, sweat-soiled cotton-
Disturbing a translucent hair,
Leaning like a heavy wheat stalk,
That would disappear in the
Overflowing emanation of the sun.
Press an ear to the wall,
Past the regular beating of
Leather boots upon the hollow
Cavernous corridors, and
Listen to the soft thump beating
Of the machine heart, pumping
Steam blood to gasp
Along labyrinthine pipes-
A secret exoskeleton bursting
And dense among the clean lines and blocks.
Angle a head up, listening closely
As a thousand hairs rustle against
A thousand fire-kilned imperfections,
And look towards the lone window,
A pitiful square glowing luminescence
In the milky darkness,
And drift up towards that slice of
Cloudless blue sky;
Flat, impassive, endless in depth,
The beauty of the world
Crushing you under its boot heel.